Gray and Juvia: From A to Z
by Armageddon Angel
Summary: 26 one-shots on the life and love of Gray and Juvia. Stories range from the humorous to angsty to fluffy and everything in between. Part of my Fairy Tail Project. Chapter 13: M is for Matrimony
1. A is for Alcohol

**Gray and Juvia - From A to Z**

**Twenty-six one shots concerning the life and love of Gray and Juvia.**

**This fic will start my Fairy Tail From A to Z Challenge fics. I'll be doing them at the same time so once I finish one letter on one fic, I'll do the same letter in the other fics.**

**The From A to Z fics will also be a like a game. The words I've chosen are, to me, the best words I can think of that relate to this pairing. Reviews will get one point and reviewers will get extra points whether or not they can guess the word for the next letter. The winner will get a one-shot dedicated to them on a subject of their choosing with that pairing. So there will be three winners in all.**

**The last thing about this fic is that they aren't in chronological order. I just pick a point in time in their relationship that relates to the word I've chosen. So don't look for continuity with this.**

**With that in mind, I hope you'll enjoy these one shots.**

**And, of course, Fairy Tail doesn't belong to me. Otherwise, I wouldn't be writing these fanfics.**

* * *

**A is for Alcohol**

_In vino veritas... In wine, there is truth. When we are drunk, we reveal our true character._

Juvia sat at the Fairy Tail bar, watching as her beloved Gray-sama was fighting with Natsu while the rest of the guild members watched in amusement. Of course, the ice-make mage was wearing only his skivvies while fighting. As usual, she was enthralled by the awesome body of Gray Fullbuster.

"Oh Gray-sama." She muttered to herself. "Your body is perfect. Oh, how Juvia wishes to run her fingers along Gray-sama's perfect body. Then she can die happy."

What she did not realize is that someone was listening to her.

"I can help with that." A voice called out to her.

Juvia turned to her right and saw a smiling Cana sitting next to her. The water mage realized that it was no ordinary smile. It was a wicked one that promised mischief.

"Cana-san?" Her voice was unsteady.

Sure, it was no secret that Juvia was in love with Gray. But she didn't like voicing her more ... errhh ... vivid fantasies out loud. When she realized that Cana heard what she said, Juvia promptly blushed.

"So you want to get down and dirty with Gray, huh?" The drunk card mage leered.

Juvia could smell the alcohol on Cana. It lingered like an aroma. It made her worried. _"Do not be fooled by Cana-san, Juvia."_ Juvia told herself. _"She is another love-rival. So just play along."_

"What do you mean, Cana-san?" She asked timidly.

Cana scoffed loudly. "Come on, girl. I know you've been dying to know what he's like in bed, right?"

Juvia realized that this conversation was heading into dangerous territory. Of course, she wondered how good lovemaking would be with Gray but that wasn't all. She wanted to be loved completely by the Ice Make exhibitionist.

Cana didn't even wait for an answer. "But even with all of his stripping, Gray is sort of a prude. I've tried many times to get some of these guys in the sack." She laughed jovially. "Natsu didn't know what the hell I was talking about, Gray just blushed and said he had things to do, Elfman couldn't stop talking about manliness to do anything, Jet and Droy were still pining for Levy, and Gajeel flat out refused me."

Juvia couldn't help but blush at Cana's blunt talks about sex. "Wha-wha-wha." She stuttered.

"I swear, it's almost enough to make me swear off younger men." Cana spat in a playful manner.

"Juvia isn't like that." She stammered.

"You want Gray, right?" Cana smirked.

Juvia felt like she was a defenseless injured seal being circled by a hungry shark. But Juvia did want Gray. She wanted him so bad.

"Well, the first step is to talk to him and tell him how you feel." Cana slapped the blue-haired woman's back playfully.

"Juvia doesn't have the confidence to tell Gray-sama how she feels." She admitted, her voice lowering a couple of octaves.

"I can help you snag your man." Cana smiled at her.

Juvia was caught off guard. "You would help Juvia?"

Cana grabbed Juvia and pulled the water mage over to her. "Of course. But really, you shouldn't be having problems getting his attention."

Cana grabbed Juvia's shawl and removed it. The card mage also removed Juvia's parka, leaving her in a bulky, light blue t-shirt. Then Cana stole her hat and mussed up her hair, removing her tightly curled coif and making it into a messy wavy look. The sultry brunette pulled down Juvia's skirt a bit so that the outer lining of her panties were peeking out from it. Finally, she made a rip in the collar that extended to her cleavage. Juvia instinctively covered her breasts with her arms. "There we go. Now go over there and talk to him." Cana told her.

Juvia's blush became more pronounced. Her entire face became red. Her stuttered became so bad that she couldn't enunciate her words.

Cana gave Juvia a serious look. "Juvia, men are simple. All you need to do is walk up to him, whisper 'Gray-sama' in his ear, press your body against his and show off the goods." She emphasized the last part by grabbing Juvia's breasts and playfully fondling them, causing Juvia's face to redefine the color red. "He'll be putty in your hands and then you two will be doing the horizontal tango in no time."

Juvia couldn't believe how easily Cana was talking about sex. But then her face was downcast. "Juvia doesn't have the courage to do that."

Cana snickered. "I can give you the courage you need to talk to your precious Gray-sama."

Juvia's eyes sparkled. "You would help Juvia?"

Cana smirked. "Of course, Juvia. What kind of guildmate would I be if I didn't help a fellow member out?" She then put a friendly hand on Juvia's shoulder. "Besides, you are probably the best suited for Gray. And I have it on good authority that he likes you back."

"Really?" Juvia's face lit up.

"Sure, whatever." Cana waved it off. She then gave the girl a large glass filled with a strong smelling liquid. "Now drink this. It'll give you the courage to do it."

Juvia smelled the contents of the glass. "This smells like alcohol."

"Like I said, liquid courage." Cana insisted.

"Juvia doesn't know..." Juvia hesitated.

"You want Gray or not because there are lots of girls who would kill to have Gray in bed." Cana drawled.

Juvia downed the drink in a hurry. She then got a strange look on her face. "Juvia thinks she needs another one before she can talk to Gray-sama."

Cana snickered. "That's the spirit. Drink as much liquid courage until you are ready to talk to Gray."

Seven glasses later, Juvia was ready. "Wish Juvia luck, Cana-san."

Cana waved her off.

Juvia waltzed her way towards Gray, who was talking to Natsu, Lucy, Erza and Happy about a recent mission that they completed. Gray, to Juvia's delight, was still in his underwear, having lost his pants somewhere in the guild.

Gray didn't realized what was happening around him until he got a lapful of water mage.

The table grew silent. Natsu looked at the sight with awe, Lucy blushed, Erza sat stonefaced as if it were normal, and Happy looked like he was about laugh.

And Gray? Gray's onyx eyes widened to the point where his eyebrows receded into his hairline. His body became stiff. He couldn't move. "Ju-ju-juvia?" He stammered, his face turning pink.

_"Damn."_ Gray thought. _"What the hell?"_

Juvia turned to face Gray. Then she moved her head so that her lips were scant inches away from his ear. Her arms were wrapped around his neck. Her body was fully pressed against his, her soft and full breasts touching his rock hard chest. "Oh Gray-sama." She whispered sultrily.

Gray's body shivered involuntarily. _"What the hell is going on?"_ He asked himself in his head. _"Why am I reacting like this?"_

Then he got a look at how Juvia was dressed. Gone was her usual shawl and her parka. In its place was a ripped t-shirt where he could see her black racer bra. Juvia's skirt was pulled down a bit so he could see the outer lining of her black lacy panties.

Gray felt himself getting excited. _"Shit. This isn't good."_ He cursed internally. Then, another question popped in his head. _"Why is she like this? Is she drunk?"_

Juvia continued whispering in his ear. "Gray-sama, do you know what you to Juvia?"

Everything in the guild stopped as all of Fairy Tail stared at the interaction between Juvia and Gray. You could hear a pin drop.

"Gray-sama is always taking off his clothes in front of Juvia." Juvia told him. "He doesn't know how badly Juvia is affected."

"What do you mean?" Gray asked hesitantly.

"Every time Gray-sama takes of his shirt, Juvia's heart goes pitter-patter." She told him without hesitation. Then she took one of his hand and places it over her heart. "Do you hear Juvia's heart, Gray-sama?"

Unfortunately for Gray's sanity, his hand was cupping her left breast. "Ahdasfon jifewca qwfno" was the ice mage's totally intelligent and philosophical response.

"Juvia can't help herself." She continued, running her fingers across the indentation of Gray's well-sculpted abs. That action nearly had him in convulsions. "Juvia wants Gray-sama so badly and she wants Gray-sama to want her back."

Juvia moved her body so that she was looking directly into his eyes.

Gray's eyes raked over Juvia's body. _"Why am I reacting like this?"_ He thought_. "I knew that she was cute but was she always this erotic?"_ Then he smelled it. It was the scent of a powerful alcoholic drink.

Gray flinched a bit. This has Cana written all over it. And sure enough, when he looked at the card mage, she lifted a mug of beer jauntily, smirking as she did so.

_"Damn, Juvia's drunk."_ He realized.

Gray was going to do the noble thing. He wasn't going to take advantage of Juvia in this state.

But then Juvia placed her delicate hand across his cheek.

"Juvia!" He nearly shrieked.

"Juvia wants to kiss Gray-sama." Juvia told him plainly, a trace of seduction in her voice. "Does Gray-sama want to kiss Juvia?"

"Juvia, you're drunk." He tried to reason with her. "You don't know what you are saying."

Juvia shook her head lightly, her now wavy tresses flowing with each shake. Gray unconsciously gulped. "No, Juvia knows what she is saying. She has always wanted to say it but she was scared."

"Juvia." Gray breathed.

Juvia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Juvia is going to kiss Gray-sama now."

Gray looked at Juvia's lips and wondered if they were as soft as they looked. Juvia, meanwhile, was inching closer and closer...

Everyone in the guild was leaning closer to get a better look. Was it going to happen? Was Juvia going to kiss Gray?

Juvia was so close that Gray could feel her hot breath in his lips.

Then it happened.

Juvia fell face-forward onto Gray's shoulder.

"Bwuh?" Gray intelligently questioned. Then he heard it. Light snoring could be heard from the water mage that was in his lap.

The guild erupted in laughter at the scene. Gray blushed in embarrassment.

"Guess who isn't getting laid tonight?" Cana shouted at the top of her lungs. "Gray! That's who." This statement caused the laughter to be even louder.

Gray refused to be embarrassed any further. He grabbed Juvia bridal-style and headed out of the guild, ignoring the wolf-whistles and catcalls directed at him.

* * *

The next morning, Juvia woke up and found herself in her bed. Her head felt like someone was taking a sledgehammer to it.

She looked around at her surroundings and found that she was in her room. She frowned a little. "How did Juvia end up here?" Juvia asked herself.

"You got drunk and passed out at the guild so I had to take you home." A voice answered her.

Juvia knew the owner of that voice, but just to be sure, she looked at her room's doorway and found Gray standing in it, holding a glass of orange juice in one hand and an aspirin in the other. "Gray-sama!" She shrieked. Thankfully, for Juvia's sake, he was fully clothed.

Juvia blushed. What was he doing in her apartment? Then his previous words caught up to her. "Juvia was drunk?"

Gray chuckled. "Very drunk."

"Juvia is so embarrassed." The girl nearly cried.

"Here's a friendly tip." Gray walked up to her with the juice and aspirin. He hand it to Juvia who took it and downed it without question. "Don't ever drink what Cana gives you to drink. That stuff can down a rhino."

Juvia's eyes were downcast. "Juvia will remember that." She then looked at Gray with a hopeful look. "Juvia didn't do anything strange that night, right?"

Gray blushed and looked away.

Juvia saw Gray's reaction and thought the worst. _"Oh no. What did Juvia do to cause that reaction in Gray-sama?"_

"Nothing really happened." Gray stammered, a light pink dusting remaining on his cheeks. "You just said some stuff and passed out in front of me."

Juvia wasn't entirely convinced. "Nothing happened?" She asked again.

Gray looked at her directly in the eyes. "Nothing happened, Juvia." He told her, a serious look in his eyes. "After you passed out, I took you to your apartment and put you to bed. Then I took the couch so I could explain what happened when you woke up in the morning." Gray dutifully left out the part where she basically fondled him publicly while sorta confessing to him. He also didn't tell her that he had gotten some clothes from his apartment so he would give Juvia the impression that something serious happened.

Juvia smiled. It wasn't a smile that normally came when Gray was talking to her. It was just a soft smile that accentuated her soft face. Gray saw it and found himself smiling as well.

"Thank you for taking of Juvia, Gray-sama." said a grateful Juvia. She was very happy that Gray had taken care of her. Not that she wouldn't be happy with anyone else doing so but with Gray, it just felt more special. Maybe obtaining his love wouldn't be harder than she thought.

"No problem." Gray responded simply. "Now, get up and get dressed. I'll take you out for breakfast. You must be starving."

And sure enough, Juvia's stomach began to growl, causing her to blush. "Okay, Gray-sama."

Gray left her room to allow Juvia to change.

After Juvia had completed her morning ritual and dressed in a light blue sundress and sandals, the water mage was ready to head out with her beloved ice mage. They left her Fairy Hills apartment in search of something to eat, a comfortable silence between them.

Gray smiled at Juvia by his side. A single thought passed through his head.

_I could really fall in love with Juvia._

* * *

Word count 2,347

**Well, that is the letter A. One letter down, twenty-five to go.**

**Did you like it? Hate it? Have no opinion whatsoever? Leave me a review.**

**And to help you guess the B word that I'll use in the next chapter, here's a preview.**

_Gray chuckled to himself. Of course he loved taking missions with Juvia. But some of his best times with her are when they go out on the town. There, they don't have any responsibilities as mages. They can just relax._

**Any ideas? Love to hear them.**

**P.S. If there are any good artists out there, can someone draw me a picture of the scene I described where Juvia is sitting on Gray's lap with him confused? I'd do it myself but 37 states have banned me from drawing because my art causes people to bleed.**

**P.P.S. I don't know if there are going to be any lemons in this. It really depends on you guys. Would you want to see some? I haven't written any in like 5-6 years.**

**Anyways, just food for thought. Til next chapter**

**A. Angel**


	2. B is for Break

**Before I begin, I want to thank all of my reviewers. At first, I figured I was going to get maybe 7, 8 reviews max for the first chapter. But it turned out to be 21. Twenty-one! At first I was all happy and stuff. But then I was like "Aww shit. Now there is so much expectation. What if I don't deliver?"  
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**My head exploded. Then I turned into a newt. But I got better and wrote this chapter. So here it is.  
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**Before that, I want to answer my reviewers. I would have done it through private message but it would have been impractical.  
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**To BonneyQ, Gray-Mochi, xScarletxMoon0, I'm glad that you liked Cana in the story. (By the way, your god demands booze and make it a double.) In many Fairy Tail romance fics, a lot of people use Mirajane to get their couple together. I wanted to do something different. So I had Cana do it.  
**

**To Chibi Waru-chan, I make no promises. I will continue this story until either it is finished or I go insane with the workload. Whichever comes first. :-P  
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**To Catwho, luvr4fantanim and Mari May Kawaii, I am kinda happy I didn't have them doing the deed right off in the first chapter. One, I would have to change the rating (I still might depending on the mood and all.) But two, I wanted to keep Juvia innocent at his point.  
**

**And to the others who reviewed, Ayrin, xBebiiAnn, Alpenrose, Stebbi, joy, MissForgetfulMe, Yukapop, Natsu-Lover45, dorac, Sweet Tsubaki, Shiawase-usagichan, and Rainbowcastle Gruvia FTW 3, thank you. Really. It gives me such joy that people are finding this fic worth the read.  
**

**And now, your featured presentation. (Also 5 points to yukapop for guessing the word correctly.)**

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**B is for Break**

_All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy._

Team Natsu had just come back from a mission. They had just defeated the Cappers crime syndicate that was plaguing the Telos Astue area. Natsu, Gray and Erza were expecting a knockdown, drag out fight. Lucy was hoping it would be easy and not overly dangerous as all of their missions tended to be. It turned out that Lucy was right and the others were wrong. The Cappers had only a couple of mages on the payroll and they were such weak ones at that that the team wrapped them up in the space of an hour.

When they reached the outskirts of Magnolia, Erza grabbed Lucy and pulled her aside. Natsu, Gray and Happy watched in terror.

"Let's go, Lucy." Erza said. Well, it was more like demanded.

"Go where?" The Stellar Spirit mage sputtered out, afraid of the wrath of her friend.

"Did you think that you would hide it from me forever?" A stone-faced Erza demanded.

Lucy visibly started to sweat. "What are you..." She trailed off.

Erza stared at Lucy and then at Natsu. Lucy turned white. "How did you..."

"I am hurt that you did not deem it fit to tell me when it happened." Erza said crossly. "Now you are coming with me and you are going to tell me everything."

"Wait." Natsu panicked. "Don't blame Lucy."

He would have said more but a sword pointed in his face happened to be a very good conversation stopper. The Fire Dragon Slayer stared at Lucy, a grim look on his face. He reached out to grab Lucy's hand. Lucy reached for his hand and squeezed it with her own.

Gray looked on in fascination. This kind of display...

His onyx eyes widened. _"Could this mean that Natsu and Lucy are going out?"_ Gray thought.

"You are not to go to her apartment tonight, Natsu." Titania commanded in a steel-laced voice.

"Aye." Natsu squeaked in an undignified manner.

Erza turned to Gray. "Have a good night, Gray." She said cordially. "Say hello to Juvia for me."

Gray was shocked at the 180 personality change but didn't say anything about it, mainly because he didn't want a sword in his face. "Yeah, sure." He responded in the coolest manner possible given the situation.

With that, the scarlet-haired mage chucked Lucy on her shoulder and headed to her apartment. Lucy dangled like a pendulum, her face stuck with an I-can't-believe-this-is-happening look.

Natsu, Gray and Happy waited until they could no longer see the long red hair of their teammate in the distance before they made a move. They let go of the breath they didn't know they were holding.

"Okay, what the hell just happened?" Gray asked the pink-haired man.

Natsu gave the Ice mage a sour look. "Happy, me and Gray are going to talk. Are you okay by yourself?"

"Natsu and Gray going to talk?" The blue Exceed over-dramatized. "The world is going to end." With that, Happy cast Aera and used his wings to proclaim that the world is going to end in a loud voice. The two mages were left with a blank expression on their faces.

"I'm hungry." Natsu proclaimed with raised fists. "Let's get something to eat."

Gray shrugged his shoulders and followed Natsu.

* * *

A strange thing happened in the dynamics of Gray and Natsu's relationship. When Gray and Juvia began dating five months after the Grand Magic Games, there was a noticeable change in Gray's demeanor. He was calmer now and he fought with Natsu less. They weren't buddy-buddy like they would pretend to be whenever Erza is around. But they weren't at each other's throats either. Sure they had their disagreements and they still fought. But it was more like once in a while instead of every day. Now, they could actually have a conversation without something being destroyed.

They found a restaurant that was close. A waitress took them to an outdoor table and, after a few minutes of flirting to realize that neither guy was interested in her, took their order. This left the two Fairy Tail mages to their conversation.

"What's the deal with Erza and Lucy?" Gray asked without even an ounce of tact. "In fact, what was the deal with you and Lucy?"

Normally, Natsu would be spilling his guts by now. However, the pink-haired man was quite reserved. This was unusual to Gray. He waited for Natsu to say something.

"Me and Lucy are together now." Natsu told Gray in an almost whisper.

To say that Gray was shocked would be to say that fire was just a little warm or that ice was just a little cold. In other words, it was a massive understatement. However, to be fair, Gray figured that the Fire Dragon Slayer and Lucy would eventually get together. I mean, they spent so much time together that it would be a real shock if they didn't.

"You and Lucy? Together?" Gray asked in a stunted manner. "When did this happen?" He was still getting over the shock that the guy in front of him had just admitted that he was in a relationship. I mean, he was so dense and Lucy was one of the hottest girls in Fairy Tail... after his beloved Juvia, of course.

"About a week and a half ago." Natsu nervously scratched the back of his head. He wasn't really comfortable talking about this, especially with Gray.

"Wow. I didn't think you'd have it in you." Gray laughed. "I mean, I never thought you were really interested in girls. Some of us guys were wondering if you were either stupid or batting for the other team."

Natsu slammed his hands against the table. "Shut up." He roared. "At least I didn't have a girl who liked me for months on end always following me, worshiping the ground I walked on just to ignore her."

Gray glowered at Natsu. "At least I've been in a relationship for seven months."

Natsu stood up and glared at Gray. "You wanna go, droopy-eyes?"

Gray stood up and returned the glare. "Anytime, slanty-eyes."

Fortunately for everyone, the waitress had returned with their food. As the plates were set, the two Fairy Tail mages sat back down to eat. Natsu hunkered down and plowed into the food while Gray took more human bites.

Their meal done, Gray turned his attention back to his nakama. "So how did it happen?" He asked. "Why haven't you two told anybody? And why is Erza pissed at you?"

"Well, really it just happened." Natsu admitted. "One day, we were friends. The next day, we are.." The Fire Dragon Slayer stopped for a minute. "I don't know what we are anymore."

"What do you mean you don't know what you two are?" Gray demanded. "You're either dating or you're not."

"I don't know." Natsu slumped against the chair. "We haven't dated."

Gray took in what Natsu had said. It did make sense. Natsu wasn't the most intuitive of people, especially when it came to things like relationships.

"So how do you even know that you two are in a relationship?" Gray asked.

Natsu scratched his cheek. He looked to his left and then to his right. "Promise not to tell?" He asked, an unusual softness to his voice.

Gray couldn't believe it. What happened to the usually confident Natsu who was always charging headfirst into danger? "Fine. I promise." He sighed.

Natsu leaned across the table and whispered. "Me and Lucy... kinda... had sex."

Gray sat stone-faced, his brain digesting that bit of information. He didn't figure Natsu as someone who would just have sex with just anyone.

"You two had sex?" He question, enunciating each word.

"Yeah." The flame-head sheepishly admitted. "It just kinda happened. I mean, I went over to her house..."

Gray held up a hand. "Stop. I don't want to hear about your gross sex life."

Natsu blew a raspberry. "I bet you and Juvia have done it lots of times."

Gray said nothing. However, Natsu noticed that there was a tiny stain of red on the ice mage's cheeks.

"Wait a minute." Natsu's lips crawled into an upward motion. "You and Juvia haven't done it yet?" The Fire Dragon Slayer giggled softly. "I didn't think I'd win in this too."

Gray growled at Natsu. "Shut up." He spat.

"You are still a virgin. How lame." Natsu taunted.

"Why did you call me out here?" Gray tried to hurriedly change the subject.

"The ice princess is frigid in bed." The pink haired guy chanted repeatedly.

Gray got up to leave. "Alright, I'm out of here." Gray bit out tersely.

Natsu grabbed him by the arm. "Okay, okay. No more teasing." He apologized.

The ice mage sat back down, running a hand through his sable hair. "Fine. Why did you call me out here?"

Natsu closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. "The reason I called you out here is because I don't know what to do."

"What do you mean?" Gray looked at him with steel eyes.

"I mean, I don't know how to act now." Natsu slipped back into being very reserved.

Gray realized what the man in front of him was saying. Since their... romantic encounter, Natsu's relationship with his friend and fellow mage, Lucy Heartfilia, had changed. He was at a loss at what to do.

"Okay." Gray began. "Answer me this. Do you like Lucy?"

"Of course." Natsu answered quickly.

"I mean do you like _like_ Lucy?" The ice mage countered.

"What's the difference?" The pink haired man queried, looking very confused.

"It means that you want to be exclusively with her, like in boyfriend and girlfriend." Gray sighed. "You know, dating and all that stuff." He was getting exasperated at the progress he was making with the dumbass.

Natsu thought for a second. Then he spoke. "What do people do on a date?" He asked somewhat timidly. "I mean, I like hanging out with her, going on missions and stuff."

"It's a little more than that." Gray explained.

"Okay. Then what do you and Juvia do?"

Gray thought about it for a while. "Okay." He started. "On our first date, we went to the park."

"The park?" Natsu gave him a disbelieving look. "What could you two possibly do there?"

"We just walked around and talked." Gray answered.

"Talked?" The Fire Dragon Slayer leaned his head on his left shoulder then on his right. "Can't you just talk in the guild or at your apartment?"

"It's what she wanted to do." Gray shrugged his shoulders.

"That sounds stupid." Natsu grimaced.

Gray's repsonse was to shrug his shoulders again. "She just wanted to hang out with me. It didn't matter where."

"But do you two go on missions and stuff?" He asked. "Because I don't want to give up taking jobs with Lucy."

"You don't have to. Me and Juvia go out on missions every once in a while." Gray told him. "But it's not just about doing jobs together."

Natsu watched in wonder as Gray spoke. It was as if his eternal rival slash nakama had become some sort of wise sage.

"Some of my best times with Juvia happen to be when we are not on missions." He said with a wistful look. "Every other week, me and Juvia take breaks from jobs to enjoy each other's company. Sometimes, we go out to get some food at a new restaurant. Sometimes, we go to the park or the zoo. I've been to the beach with her as well. Hell, there have been times where we just lounged around my apartment all day."

Natsu's eyes widened with Gray's explanation but the ice mage continued.

"You see, dumbass, it's not about where you go that's important. It's that you are doing it together." Gray told him.

The Fire Dragon Slayer was in awe. Who was this guy in front of him? Was it really Gray Fullbuster, the guy he had known for so long? Did his relationship with Juvia change him that he was unrecognizable to the pink haired mage?

"So it really doesn't matter where we go?" Natsu asked.

"Not really." Gray told him. "Why don't you ask Lucy what she wants to do or where she wants to go?"

Natsu chuckled. "You changed ever since you've been going out with Juvia."

Gray grimaced. "Changed? What the hell do you mean I've changed? I've always been the same guy I was before, Flame-brain." Said mage made a fist and waved it in front of the pink haired man.

Natsu waved his hands in defense. "I don't mean it in a bad way, Underwear Prince." He corrected. "I just mean that you seem, I don't know, happy, I guess. And it's not just mean who thinks that. Everyone in the guild say that you are calmer and you smile more ever since you two got together."

Gray stopped threatening the guy in front of him. He hadn't realized his own change. Being with Juvia felt so natural that it hardly felt like he was doing anything. I guess it is true what they say. The last person to see a change is that person himself... or something like that.

"Whatever." Gray blushed unceremoniously.

Natsu got up and left jewels on the table to pay for his food. Gray did the same.

The pink haired mage slapped Gray on the back jovially. "But thanks man." Natsu told him. "Now I have an idea of what to do with Lucy."

Gray couldn't resist a snide remark. "I'm surprised you are with Lucy. I mean she's waaaay out of your league."

Natsu glowered at the ice mage. "Whatever. I'm going to Lucy's apartment."

Gray was thunderstruck. "But Erza said you couldn't go."

The fire mage flashed him a vicious smirk, one he only did whenever there was a fight to be had. "Yeah. But if I go, she's going to be angry and that means she'll fight me at her full power." Natsu said joyfully. "I'm all fired up."

He smashed his fist together and was off like a shot.

Gray was left with a shocked look on his face. "That guy has a death wish."

* * *

The ice make mage felt a change in the air as he walked. He smiled. "How long are you going to stay in the shadows, Juvia?"

He heard a squeak from behind him. Moments later, Gray was joined by his girlfriend, Juvia.

"How did Gray-sama know Juvia was here?" She asked, totally embarrassed.

"I knew from the moment me and Natsu went to get something to eat." Gray smiled. "I've been getting better at sensing you, Juvia."

Juvia shook her head. "Juvia didn't mean to spy on Gray-sama and Natsu."

Gray shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I don't mind."

The water mage puffed out her cheeks. "Juvia was mad at the waitress who dared to flirt with Gray-sama."

The exhibitionist gave her a curious look. "She did? I didn't notice."

Juvia breathed a sigh of relief. "Juvia is glad. Gray-sama belongs to Juvia."

There was silence between them for a space.

"So Natsu and Lucy huh?" Juvia asked.

"Yeah, I was shocked too." Gray admitted. "But who cares about that. Let's go do something."

"Together?" She squeaked. Despite dating for the last seven months, Juvia was still surprised that Gray always offered to do anything with her.

Gray chuckled. "No. Let's go to the same place and do different things apart."

Juvia's face fell. "If that's what Gray-sama wants." And she was about to walk away when Gray grabbed her hand.

"It was a joke. A joke." The ice make mage explained. But then Gray could hear Juvia sniffle. "I was kidding, Juvia." He whispered softly.

"Maybe Juvia should tell Erza-san that Gray-sama was being mean to Juvia." She whined.

Gray blanched. "No. Anything but that." He begged.

Then Juvia turned around. "Just kidding." She stuck out her tongue.

Gray sighed in relief.

Natsu's words came back to him at that moment. He said that Gray had changed. And maybe he was right. But Juvia had changed as well. She was less obsessive and hesitant and more confident and outgoing. How could he not see the change in Juvia as well? But at this point, did it matter? As long as he was with Juvia, Gray was happy.

"So what does Gray-sama want to do with Juvia? Does Gray-sama want to go out on a mission with her?" She asked.

"Maybe sometime later this week." He told her.

"But Gray-sama and Juvia haven't gone on a mission together in a while." She explained. "Does he not want to go on jobs together?"

Gray chuckled to himself. Of course he loved taking missions with Juvia. But some of his best times with her are when they go out on the town. There, they don't have any responsibilities as mages. They can just relax. They could just be two people who were dating.

"I like going out on missions with you." Gray answered her. "But really, it doesn't matter what we are doing, as long as we are doing it together."

Juvia's eyes sparkled with love. "Really, Gray-sama?" She asked

Gray smiled softly at Juvia. "Really, Juvia. You know, I learned that from being with you."

Juvia smiled back. "Thank you."

With that, the couple walked away, hand in hand. What they did that day was irrelevant. What matters was that they truly enjoyed each other's company.

"Gray-sama, your shirt!"

"Dammit."

* * *

**_Word Count 2927_**

**And that's the letter B. I apologize for the lack of explicit Gruvia moments but I wanted to highlight the changes in Gray now that he is in a relationship with Juvia. I am okay with this chapter but not totally ecstatic. It was a harder letter than when I first wrote out. And I wanted to avoid words that are normally used in A-Z fics, like beautiful.**

**Anyways, Loved it? Hated it? No strong feelings one way or the other? Leave a review. I'd love to hear from you.**

**And here's a preview for the next chapter.**

_Fairy Tail mages were always looking to see who was the best, whether it be fighting, drinking, whatever. So there should be no surprise at the uproar that was caused when Mirajane unveiled her Valentine's Day game. Now they could see who could be the most romantic._

**Any guesses at what the C word I'll be using for this chapter? Leave a review.**

**Until next time,**

**A. Angel**


	3. C is for Competitive

**Well, boys and girls, here it is. Chapter three of my Gruvia fic.  
**

**You guys have no idea how happy you make me when you review. It makes all of this worthwhile. I'm being super serial right now. All of the positive reviews and the constructive criticism makes me happy to return to the world of fanfics. It also gives me the energy I need to get through another chapter.  
**

**A very special shoutout to xBebiiAnn. She drew one of the scenes from the first chapter. I have the link on my profile so go and check it out. It's awesome and tastefully sexy.  
**

**For those of you who commented on the Nalu scene, particularly dorac, luvr4fantanim, and Mari May Kawaii, I find that when a guy and girl are friends but want to be something more, there is a hesitancy to take that step for fear of losing what they already have. If you are interested, I will soon post how they got together in my Natsu and Lucy fic in a later chapter. So you can read it when you get the chance.  
**

**And I am glad that you guys liked the pacing of the last chapter. I wasn't happy with it myself but it became moot once I realized you guys did.  
**

**Anyways, before we go onto our feature presentation, three points to brokentoybox, jamminkitty, gray-mochi, gohanroxme, little otaku, StarryHeaven, Aryine, iceninjawarrior, and mbg for guessing the word. (I took competition, contest, challenge and other synonyms.)  
**

**C is for Competitive**

* * *

_It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game._

February 12th. Just a normal day in Fairy Tail.

"I am, droopy-eyes." Natsu yelled at Gray.

"Are you kidding, slanty-eyes?" Gray yelled back. "I am."

"You don't believe me?" The Dragon Slayer shouted. "Ask Lucy."

"As if Lucy's a good judge." The ice mage spat, unconsciously shedding his shirt. "Juvia will tell the truth."

"Not a chance. Juvia's had a thing for you since forever." The pink haired man roared. "There's no way she'll be fair."

"You wanna go, flame brain?" The black haired man challenged.

"Fine by me." Natsu slammed his fists together.

So began another epic battle between Natsu and Gray. Yep! It's just another day in Fairy Tail.

Everyone watched on in amazement as the two once again found something to fight about. Lucy looked bemused at the scene. Juvia had her eyes set in love mode while watching her beloved Gray-sama battle Natsu.

The guild doors to reveal Gajeel walking side by side with Levy. He looked at the fight and grinned.

"So what are they fighting about this time?" The Iron Dragon Slayer chuckled.

"Please don't get involved, Gajeel." Levy pleaded.

"No promises, Short Stack." Gajeel gave the Solid Script mage a lopsided grin and an affectionate pat on her head.

Levy sighed. "At least try to be nice."

He looked her in the eyes. "For you, I'll try." Gajeel smirked.

Levy and Gajeel walked towards the table where Lucy and Juvia were sitting, watching the fight.

"Morning, Lu-chan, Juvia." Levy greeted the two women.

Lucy and Juvia returned the greeting.

"So what are they fighting about this time?" Levy asked, curious about the fight.

Natsu and Gray stopped their fighting when they heard Levy's voice.

"Good. An independent judge." Natsu yelled.

"Now we can settle this." Gray responded.

The two men ran towards Levy. Gajeel moved in front of Levy protectively.

"What do you want?" The Iron Dragon Slayer grounded out at Natsu and Gray.

"We want Levy to settle something for us." They shouted in unison.

The pierced man scowled. "Why don't you have Juvia or Bunny-girl do it, whatever it is?"

Natsu and Gray glared at each other.

"Apparently, this isn't something that can be decided by either of them." Natsu answered. "Even though _my Lucy_ is totally trustworthy." He scoffed.

"And you are saying that _my Juvia_ isn't?" Gray yelled. "She isn't a liar."

Levy smiled in exasperation. Lucy looked at her friend and shook her head.

"You shouldn't get involved, Levy-chan." Lucy told the Solid Script mage.

"Juvia agrees." The water mage sighed. "Even though Juvia believes that it is Gray-sama, she knows that getting involved will cause more trouble.

"Well, Natsu has his moments." Lucy giggled. "But I agree with Juvia. It's better not to get involved."

"Moments?" Natsu roared, flames erupting from his mouth.

Levy put a hand to her lips. "Okay, now I'm curious. What are you fighting about?"

"We are trying to decide who's the most romantic." Natsu told her.

"Hothead thinks it's him while I'm trying to tell him that it's me." Gray answered.

Levy thought for a moment, totally ignoring the shaking of her friends heads. Finally, she came up with an answer.

"Oh that's easy." Levy smiled. "It would be Gajeel."

"Gajeel!" Natsu and Gray shouted in unison.

"Gi hi." Gajeel smirked victoriously. "Got a problem?"

With that, the three males continued the fight.

"Levy-chan." Lucy gasped. "Why did you do that? Also how is he romantic?"

Levy smiled mischievously. "Oh you'd be surprised."

Lucy and Juvia were shocked. _"What does he do for her?_" They both thought.

* * *

From the other side of the guild, Elfman heard the reason for the fight. "A man shows his romantic side with his fists. That's what a man does." He shouted at the top of his lungs.

He turned to Evergreen who watched the Beast man stoically. "Ever, watch as my manly fists prove my love for you." With that, he jumped into the fray.

"I said stop calling me Ever." The auburn haired woman shouted in an unladylike manner. But she was ignored.

The fight started to get vicious but no one dared to stop them. And as all four combatants were ready to use their magic, they felt an intense killer aura that could only belong to one person. Gray, Natsu, Gajeel and Elfman stopped their fighting immediately.

"Erza?" They shouted in unison, now afraid for their lives.

"What have I told you about fighting in the guild?" She asked menacingly. "Just because the Master isn't here doesn't mean you can run wild."

Elfman was the first to recover, but only slightly. "But this is for a man's pride. Man." He told her.

"These idiots don't get that I am the most romantic man in Fairy Tail." Gajeel told Titania. "Even the Bookworm agrees with me."

"Of course, she'd agree with you." Natsu roared at Gajeel. "She's your girlfriend. You'd be in big trouble if she said that you weren't."

"Erza, this has to be settled." Gray told Erza as calmly as possible. There was no telling if she felt the need to run them all through with a sword. "When these dumbasses realize that I'm the most romantic, the match will be decided."

The guys didn't say anything afterwards. They waited for the Knight to say something. And it seemed for the longest time that she wouldn't. But then the oddest thing happened.

Erza Scarlet blushed.

The entire guild got quiet. No one knew how to handle the blushing armored mage.

"Okay. Carry on." Erza said simply.

There was a hesitant pause with Gray, Gajeel, Elfman and Natsu. None of the men knew what to make of this. Then they started the fight again.

Erza, for her part, sat down with Lucy, Juvia and Levy, ignoring the shocked faces from her nakama.

"Erza, why didn't you stop the fight?" Lucy asked. She was beyond shocked. Usually, Erza was the one who stopped the fights, not encourage it.

Erza waved her hand dismissively. "All is fair in love and war. This love match has yet to be decided." But the three girls caught the faint blush forming.

"But at this rate, the guild will be destroyed." Levy whimpered.

"Juvia cannot believe that Erza-san would allow this." She wondered incredulously.

There was a loud thump that did not come from the fight. The four combatants looked in the direction of the noise.

It came from the bar. Mirajane was smiling. She had gotten everyone's attention.

"Settling who's the most romantic man in Fairy Tail with fists will not work." The barmaid said with a smile. "There's only one way to do that."

From under the bar, she pulled out a banner and unfurled it. "I give you FAIRY TAIL'S MOST ROMANTIC MAN CONTEST."

There was a silence for about a space while everything sank in. The Demon Takeover mage gave a simple smile to everyone in Fairy Tail.

"The rules are simple." Mira smiled. "Each man must come up with a way to spend a romantic day with his respective girl. However, the girls cannot give ideas to the guys in any way shape or form."

The men blinked rapidly at what the white-haired model was saying. This was actually a reasonable idea.

"And just to make it interesting, the most romantic man will win two tickets to the Strata Beach Resort for seven days and six nights." Mira smiled while giving the guys a wink.

Everyone gasped. Now things were getting interesting.

"But who is going to judge?" A voice called out.

"Well, I am, of course." Mira continued smiling.

Natsu bristled. "Isn't that giving Elfman an unfair advantage?" He asked.

"Oh Natsu, do you think I can't judge fairly?" She asked. Although the words came out as cordially as possible, every man could feel the faint aura of "Don't mess with me" that she emanated.

"Just you alone?" Gray asked, making sure to choose his words carefully. "That sounds like a lot of work."

"Gray is right." Erza said confidently. "I will help judge as well. That way, the match can be decided."

No one knew how to take Erza being a judge but there wasn't a person brave enough to question her capabilities.

"And I suppose I will as well." The sand mage Max grunted. "After all, I have been a judge before."

"You were an announcer before." Many guys muttered. "It's not the same thing."

But the judges were set at three.

"Well, the judges are picked. All that's left is to register the couples." Mira smiled.

She pulled a clipboard and attached a blank white sheet of paper. Almost immediately, many of the guys rushed the bar to sign their names and their partners' names.

Gray turned to Juvia, who blushed immediately. Even after 10 months of dating, The water mage still did that in front of her boyfriend. "Don't worry, Juvia. I'm going to win." He told her confidently.

Juvia smiled. "Gray-sama is so romantic." She squealed.

"Oh." Mira said as in an afterthought. "Freed, I need a favor." She implored.

"Of course, Mirajane-san." Freed complied. "What is it that you need?"

Mira smirked devilishly and whispered something in his ear.

"I can do that for you." He told her.

The barmaid clapped her hands. "Okay. Now will the ladies please step forward." She asked.

The women of the registered men nervously approached the bar. Freed drew his rapier and inscribed his runes on the ladies' hands.

"Until the day of the contest, the ladies will be unable to speak to their partners about the contest." Freed explained. "No communication through speech, writing or any kind of signs shall be allowed."

A collective "EHHH" resounded through the guild.

"That way, each man can prove how romantic he is without any help from his girlfriend." Mira smiled again. "So the revealing will take place on Valentine's Day. Guys, you have about a day and a half to come up with something. So good luck."

With that, Mira shooed everyone away from the guild.

* * *

Gray and Juvia were walking to Fairy Hills, hand in hand. Somewhere along the way, Gray had once again lost his shirt. But Juvia didn't mind at all.

"Juvia knows that Gray-sama is going to win this contest." The blue-haired mage cheered. "That's because Juvia has seen his romantic side."

Gray blushed a bit. Now that they were away from the guild, the ice mage was starting to have second thoughts about this contest. At first, the fight started out as a way to make Natsu shut up about being frigid with his love life. Really, it wasn't as though he was unromantic. Gray just chose to have this side of him be seen by Juvia alone. After all, he was _her_ boyfriend.

But now that he was challenged, Gray couldn't back down. His competitive spirit started to be riled. "Trust me. I have a great idea for Valentine's Day." He smiled softly at his girlfriend. "You are going to love it."

"Juvia knows that she'll love anything that Gray-sama comes up with." The water mage agreed.

Gray leaned into Juvia for a passionate kiss. Sometimes, Juvia would say something so cute that he had to reward his girlfriend.

Juvia felt weak in the knees when he kissed her. "It's not like Juvia is complaining but why did Gray-sama kiss Juvia?"

"Sometimes you don't know how cute you are." Gray chuckled.

Juvia blushed profusely.

"Now let's get you home." Gray smiled.

When he had returned his girlfriend to her apartment, Gray walked away from Fairy Hills with his hands in his pocket.

"I am so screwed." He muttered. "I have no idea what to do."

Gray racked his brain to come up with ideas. And, although he was pretty sure that he could give Juvia a pen and she would say it was the most romantic pen ever, the ice mage wanted to leave her speechless. He wanted his idea to be one that future generations would remember and say _"That Gray really loves Juvia."_

Gray put his hands into the ice make gesture and created random objects, hoping to get inspiration. When he had made a horse, the black haired man got an idea.

"I've got something." He thought aloud. "But I have to make a deal with the devil."

Gray resolved himself. He was going to talk to Lyon.

* * *

"It figures you would come to me." Lyon boasted. "Though I have to admit that I thought you would come a lot sooner."

Gray grumbled to himself. He knew that as soon as he called his fellow pupil, this would happen. If only he didn't have to deal with this. But this was for Juvia. He'd endure for Juvia.

"Oh how cruel the fates must be." Lyon moaned theatrically. "How can it be that my beloved Juvia-chan is being romanced by this idiot."

"Shut your face." Gray retorted.

"If only the heavens had deigned me to be Juvia-chan's boyfriend, she would be romanced like a woman should." The white-haired ice mage flourished.

"Enough." Gray yelled. "Are you going to help me or not?" He asked, slowly losing his patience with the man.

"On one condition." Lyon smirked. "Juvia has to go on five dates with me."

"She's my girlfriend, Lyon. Get your own." The black-haired man growled.

"Fine. How about three dates?" The Lamia Scale mage tried to haggle.

"How about a punch in the face?" Gray counteroffered.

"One date."

"Five punches."

"One kiss."

Gray was silent for a while. Then what could only be described as a ghoulish smile crept on his face. Lyon was perturbed by the action but said nothing.

"How about I tell Urtear what happened six weeks ago?" Gray grinned evilly.

"You bastard." Lyon growled, a faint blush on his face. "You promised that you would never bring up that incident ever again."

"I said that I wouldn't bring up the incident without a reason." Gray responded coolly. "You're trying to get with my girl. I'll use whatever means necessary to make sure that it doesn't happen."

Lyon knew he was beat. Still, he had to give Gray credit for going this far. It solidified the notion that Gray was in love with Juvia. "I'll help you with whatever you're planning. In exchange, you can never use the incident to blackmail me again." The elder ice mage mumbled.

"Deal."

"Fine. What do you need?" Lyon asked.

"I need your help to make it snow in the southwest part of town." Gray answered.

"Why do you need it to snow?" The white haired man wondered. "And why just the southwestern part?"

"That's my section." Gray replied. "Me and the guys already sectioned off parts of the town to do our thing for tomorrow."

"What thing?" Lyon asked. Then he realized it. "Tomorrow? You mean Valentine's Day? Aww Gray. My baby pupil is growing up." He gushed.

"Shut up and help me." Gray was reaching the limit of his patience.

"Why do you need it to snow? It's going to be a scorcher tomorrow." Lyon asked in all seriousness.

"For what I'm planning, I need the snow as insulation." Gray explained. "Otherwise, the ice is going to melt faster."

He handed Lyon some papers detailing his plan.

"I'm impressed. You thought this out." Lyon said, truly amazed at the lengths his rival was going through.

Gray blushed, but he didn't say anything.

"Well, this isn't going to make itself." Lyon slapped Gray's back in a friendly manner. "Let's get started."

* * *

Juvia, on Valentine's Day morning, woke up with a stir. For some reason, she felt unusually warm. So she removed the duvet with which she slept and got out of bed.

As she stood in the shower and felt the warm water on her body, Juvia couldn't help but feel a bit excited to see what Gray had planned for today. Though she knew he would go all out for this contest, nonetheless, Gray could really wow her when he put his mind to it. So she hurried her morning ritual to prepare for the moment when her beloved Gray-sama came to get her.

As she was in the process of drying herself, there was a knock on her apartment door. Juvia knew from the knock who it was. Wrapping the towel around her still wet body, the water mage went to answer the door.

"Morning, JuviAAA" Gray answered, the last syllable coming out a little higher than he intended due to the ice mage seeing the state of Juvia's dress (or undress for that matter).

"Good morning, Gray-sama." Juvia replied with a hug, pressing her near naked wet body against Gray. She was oblivious to the effect she was having on Gray, who was on the verge of pleasure overload.

It's been ten months since their relationship started and although they've been together long, Gray and Juvia have not had gone all the way. In fact, except for some heavy makeout sessions and light petting, their relationship was pretty tame. It went unspoken between them that they would only go that far when, and only when, they were ready.

"Clothes, Juvia." Gray shouted, which sounded hypocritical even to him. "You aren't dressed."

Juvia took a look at the towel that she was wearing. "Oh no. Juvia will get dressed." She blushed. With that, Juvia ran inside.

Gray let himself in and sat down on her couch, trying to calm himself down. It would not do to jump her. Although it would be very pleasurable, doing that would ruin the surprise he had for her.

Juvia returned wearing her Cossack hat, her tight sleeveless blouse that showed off her ample goods and her long flowing skirt. Gray groaned internally. Did she have to wear this? He remembered the last time she wore that, the Grand Magic Games. It was during that time that he had confessed to liking her. Day three of the games where he fought Lyon and confessed to her, and everyone else, that Juvia belonged to him.

If she wore that, the chances of them getting out of the apartment and to her Valentine's Day surprise would drop dramatically.

"Juvia is ready for Gray-sama to take her." Juvia nearly purred.

Gray's eyes widened. Juvia's odd choice of wording had him stirring down below and if she said anything else, he would take her here and now.

"Come on, Juvia." Gray groaned. "We need to hurry. Grab your coat."

"Okay, Gray-sama." Juvia agreed, taking her hand in his and leaving the apartment.

As they were heading to the exit of Fairy Hills, Juvia turned to Gray. "So what is Juvia's gift?" She asked.

Gray smiled back. "You'll see." He said cryptically.

As they exited Fairy Hills, Juvia gasped.

A horse-drawn open carriage was parked outside the dorm. The elderly man at the reins smiled cordially at the couple.

"Juvia is impressed." She said. "Gray-sama got Juvia a carriage ride."

Gray whacked her gently on the head with two of his fingers. "No silly. The carriage is only part of your gift." He told her with a small smile.

Gray led her into the carriage. "You know the route." He told the elderly man.

With a nick of the reins, the driver lead the couple down the agreed upon route.

* * *

As the carriage ride began, Juvia noticed that something was falling from the sky.

"It's snowing, Gray-sama." She smiled innocently as she caught a flake in the palm of her hand.

"Well, how about that." Gray smirked knowingly.

"Juvia thought that the weather was going to be hot today." She wondered. Then it hit her. "Does Gray-sama have something to do with this?"

His onyx eyes taunted her. "Maybe." He drawled.

She would have questioned him further when Juvia's eyes caught something on her left.

"It's an ice wall." The water mage squealed in delight. Then she noticed something. "Hey, there's something written on it."

"What does it say?" Gray asked in a humorous manner.

"It says The Tale of Two Lovers, a Gray Fullbuster presentation." She read aloud. Then Juvia blushed. "Gray-sama." She whispered.

"Just watch." Gray told her as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close.

Along the path, Juvia saw two ice sculptures. One was of a girl crying and making teru-teru bozu dolls. The other is of a boy crying in the ruins of a town.

"Gray-sama?" Juvia didn't trust her voice. "Are those sculptures of us?"

Gray responded by kissing her on the cheek.

The next ice sculptures came up. The girl was crying behind a tree while a group of kids were having fun. On the other side, the boy was holding out his hand for a woman with short hair while she faced down a monster.

"Gray-sama, is that Ur-san?" She asked, not knowing how to take this.

"Yeah." Gray answered, a tinge of sadness in his voice.

Juvia left it alone and waited for the next sculptures.

The next ones were of a young woman with an emotionless face and a shirtless man without a smile.

"That is us now." Juvia gasped. She had to marvel at the detail. Each ice sculpture was hand-crafted with precision. She could even read the emotion each work of art was displaying.

It was the next sculpture along the path that the carriage took that surprised her. It was the same man and woman. But this time, they are together. The man was sitting down and the woman was lying down watching the blue skies.

"This is when Gray-sama and Juvia first met." She whispered. That he remembered the incident in detail was incredible. How Gray crafted every detail was nothing short of amazing.

"I could never forget this moment." Gray chuckled. So many memories.

Like a child on Christmas, Juvia couldn't wait for the next sculpture. Already she was impressed at the time and the effort Gray had put into this. And he still wasn't done.

The next sculpture came up. It was the woman smiling, surrounded by lots of people including the man.

"This is when Juvia joined Fairy Tail." Juvia gasped. She remembered the feeling of acceptance that she experienced when she joined the guild. Gray had captured it perfectly.

The next sculpture was of the man on his knees, holding the woman in his arms as she laid supine.

"Juvia doesn't really remember this." She admitted sheepishly.

"This was during the S-class exams after your fight with Meredy." Gray told her. "It was when I started feeling differently about you."

Juvia blushed. His feelings stretched that far, she wondered.

The next sculpture was one she dreamed about often. It was the man taking the woman's hand. She didn't need any prompting to know what this statue meant.

"This is when Gray-sama told Juvia that he likes her." Juvia felt tears welling up.

"Right after the Magic Games." He responded.

The next statue was of the man and woman holding hands and walking in step together.

"Our first date?" She asked.

Gray nodded.

After that one, the next sculpture was the man and woman standing under a tree and looking lovingly into each other's eyes.

"Our first kiss." She answered.

Along the carriage path was the next statue of the woman lying in a bed while the man had a sad look on his face and held her hand.

"This is when Gray-sama told Juvia that he loved her." Juvia couldn't help the tears that fell from her eyes.

Gray used his thumb to wipe away her tears. "Right after I told you not to throw your life away for me."

"Juvia will never do that again." She promised.

"I know." Gray answered.

The next sculpture was of the man and woman. They were sitting on a horse-drawn carriage, looking very much in love.

"This is today." Juvia laughed.

Gray chuckled and said nothing.

"So is it over?" Juvia asked. "Juvia has no words for how she feels." She admitted.

"It's not over." Gray responded simply.

The carriage continued its course. The next sculptures were bunched together. There was one of the man on one knee taking the hand of the woman. The next one of the man and woman standing at an altar. The man was dressed in a tuxedo while the woman was in a flowing bridal dress. The final one was of the man and woman happily standing together. In the woman's hand was a bundle that she cradled affectionately.

Juvia couldn't believe her eyes. "Gray-sama?" She whispered, unable to find her voice.

"I know that this hasn't happened yet." Gray held her. "But this is how I see my future with you."

The water mage couldn't believe it. This day had to be a dream. That was the only way to explain how she felt. Even though she knew that Gray could be romantic, Juvia couldn't believe that this was real. Tears once again streamed down her face.

"Juvia is so happy to be with Gray-sama." She cried joyfully.

"But you haven't seen the best part." He teased.

"Best part?" She questioned.

The carriage came to a stop. Gray helped Juvia out of the carriage and led her to one final ice sculpture. Unlike the others, this one was just an ice wall with words chipped into it.

Juvia read the words aloud.

"Though it took me a while to get there, the time I spend with you are some of the best times of my life. I love you, Juvia."

Her heart welled with emotion. She couldn't believe it. Juvia knew that Gray loved her, knew it instinctively. But to see the work, the time, the care that he put into this, her heart overflowed with love.

"Gray-sama." She sighed.

She leaned in and kissed Gray passionately. The ice mage responded by wrapping his arms around her narrow waist.

When they were finished, Gray readjusted her hat and smiled. "Come on, let's get back to the guild." He said.

"Yes."

* * *

The guild was bustling with excitement and very satisfied women. Mirajane stepped up on the stage and took the microphone in her hand.

"Well, I must say that the judges and I are truly impressed with the entries." She squealed in delight. "Who would have thought we had so many Casanovas in Fairy Tail?"

A loud cheer erupted from the guild.

"And now for the results."

She pulled an envelope from her skirt pocket.

"In third place, Romeo and Wendy with their paddleboat ride around Magnolia River."

Romeo blushed and looked away while Wendy hugged the young Fire Mage joyfully. There was a collective "Awww" from the guild.

"A chip off the ol' block." Macao guffawed. "I knew my son was a Ladies' Man just like his old man."

"As if, you old goat." Wakaba countered. "When was the last time you've been with a woman?"

Mira ignored the fighting and continued. "Romeo and Wendy have won tickets to Barona Amusement Park." She smiled.

"Second place goes to ... Elfman and Evergreen with their animal symphony."

"Not bad, huh Ever." Elfman grinned. "A man always comes out on top in the art of romance. Man."

Evergreen responded by hitting the Takeover mage over the head with her fan.

"We were suppose to win first, you idiot." She berated. "How can you call yourself a man when there was someone who beat us?"

Mira ignored the painful beating her brother was receiving. "They just won a trip to Vesperia Spa."

Evergreen stop hitting Elfman. "Vesperia Spa?" She questioned "You mean the ultra-exclusive spa that has a nine month waiting list and cost about as much as 3 S-mission pays?"

"The one and the same." Mira answered with her famous smile.

The bespectacled woman sighed. "You know, maybe second place isn't all that bad. What do you think, Elfman?"

Elfman didn't respond as he was smacked into unconsciousness.

"And now for first place."

The guild was on the edge of their seats.

"First prize goes to Natsu and Lucy, Gray and Juvia, and Gajeel and Levy." Mira cheered. "You three men are really romantic. Even Erza was impressed."

Loud clapping thundered in the guild.

"But nothing has been resolved." Natsu whined.

He would have said more but the guild doors slammed open.

Mirajane looked in the direction of the entrance.

"Good afternoon, Master." She greeted with a smile.

The Master didn't acknowledge her greeting as he made his way to the stage. Everyone was silent as the Master cleared his throat.

"You damn brats." Makarov yelled. "I was just talking with the mayor of Magnolia. You brats went overboard again."

The men of the contest gulped.

"Alzack, you riddled the memorial wall with bullets." He started. "Elfman, your wild animals are still on the loose. Romeo, you put a crack in the Magnolia dam that had to be repaired. Natsu, you burnt half of the forest and uprooted the other half of the trees. Gray, your ice melted and flooded the market square. Gajeel, you tore up 37 roads with your iron."

Each of the men hung their heads in shame.

"And yet, I am so proud of you." The old man smiled. "The children of Fairy Tail go all out with their feelings. I was very proud of each and every one of your ideas. It warms my heart to know that the feelings that all of you have are strong enough to manifest like this."

A loud cheer emanated from the members. They were congratulating each other when a middle aged balding man enter the guild and handed the guild master a piece of paper. He clutched the paper and then his chest.

"15 million jewels in damages?" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Every man for himself." Natsu yelled

Everyone ran out of the guild in all haste lest they face the wrath of their tiny master.

* * *

Gray grabbed Juvia by her hand as they rushed out of the vicinity of the guild.

"I am sort of pissed now." Gray grumbled.

Juvia looked at her boyfriend curiously. "Why, Gray-sama?"

"I wasn't able to prove to those guys that I was more romantic than them." He sighed.

Juvia stopped running which made Gray stop as well.

"You proved it to Juvia, Gray-sama." She told him. "Juvia was blown away by today. In Juvia's mind, Gray-sama is number one."

Gray smiled. "Really? How blown away?"

Juvia smiled and leaned into him, kissing the ice mage senseless.

"That blown away." Gray smirked.

"That's just the beginning." Juvia purred.

"Oh?" He teased.

Juvia whispered something in his ear. Gray's eyes widened.

"Well, let's get to my place." He answered.

Gray wasted no time carrying her bridal style to his house, remembering the promises that Juvia made.

* * *

_Word Count: 5142_

**Well there is chapter three. This one kinda got away from me but I am still happy about it. Fairy Tail doesn't know the meaning of the word restraint.**

**The idea for Gray's entry came to me when a guy I knew from college proposed to his girlfriend. He made a bunch of ice sculptures that ended with one of a man proposing to a woman. But Gray finished his in a day while the guy's took about two weeks to do. That Ice Make magic is so useful.**

**Before I settled on the ending that I did, I had Erza and Max winning the contest. Even though I don't ship them, I wanted just the most amusing pair to win. But I settled with this ending. If you want to know what Natsu or Gajeel did for the contest, I will post them on their respective fics in the future. As for Romeo and Elfman, I might write about their entry at a later date. They are pretty good ideas.**

**And because I know that someone will ask me, I have no idea where the Lyon/Urtear thing came from. When I am stuck on how to write, I go into what I call freestyle writing. I type the first thing that comes to my head without filtering. And this is one of the ideas that came out. As to what happened? Use your imagination.**

**Anyways, Love it? Hate it? Have no opinion one way or the other? Leave me a review. Here's a preview of the next chapter.**

_Juvia always brought the rain. No matter where she went, it would follow her. And it brought everyone down. Who would want to be with someone who brings the rain?_

**So, can you guess the D word here?**

**Till next time,**

**A. Angel**


	4. D is for Depressing

**Hello boys and girls. I bring you the next chapter.**

**Before I get to that, gotta answer my reviewers.  
**

**I am glad that people liked Gray's idea for the contest. I'll be putting up Natsu and Gajeels ideas in their respective fics when the letter is appropriate. To dorac, don't get me wrong. The guy who made ice sculptures for his girlfriend made about five in the space of two weeks. Not like 20 in a day in Gray's case.  
**

**For those who liked the RoWen moment, I guess now I am going to have to write what happened for their part in the contest. So look for that in the near future.  
**

**To luvr4fantanim, I'm glad that you find my fics easy to read and that they give you a release on your day. And of course, Fairy Tail would organize something like this. They're Fairy Tail. They'll celebrate the kitchen sink being fixed given half the chance. With Lyon, I like him as a foil to Gray when it concerns Juvia. He's over the top when it comes to her while Gray is more reserved. When you said GENIUS concering Juvia's innocence, I instantly thought of the GENIUS meme. I am so sad. Finally, I really think that one of these days, Makarov is going to get a heart attack due to his children.  
**

**Anyways, thanks to all of you reviewers, especially the ones who are reading each story in my Fairy Tail Challenge Project. Each review gives me joy and makes me want to get to the next letter.  
**

**So here's a note for this chapter. It's probably going to be a bit difficult to read because of the format I've chosen. When I chose the word for this letter, I knew where I was going with this, right back into the past. I wanted to do something different for this chapter so I wrote it in poetry form. I don't know why but I felt that this chapter was better served this way. So I figure that people will like or hate this chapter. And I am fine with that. I won't explain until the end but I think you'll get it as you read why I chose this format.  
**

**Finally, before we begin, three points to Catwho, Little Otaku, superduperizee, luvr4fantanim, MissForgetfulMe, Yukari Hiwada, Alliriana, animeluvv679, and Tsukushi Tomoi for guessing the word.  
**

**Now, our feature presentation**

* * *

**D is for Depressing**

_Depression is when you have lots of love, but no one's taking. ~ Douglas Coupland._

**Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop.**

Juvia has been never been alone. Never in her whole life. The rain is her constant friend... her unwanted friend.

The rain falls on Juvia, bringing her down, bringing everyone down. No one wants to be with Juvia because Juvia brings the rain and the rain brings everyone down.

**Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop.**

Juvia...

Juvia's name means Rain. A significant name. Juvia's parents named her this, because they want her to bring the rain.

Juvia comes from a long line of water mages. Water mages are stronger when they are fighting in their element. When Juvia was born, Juvia's parents said that she was blessed with the rain. What they really mean is that as soon as Juvia was born, they put a magic glyph inside of her. It makes it rain on Juvia.

So that the rain will always fall on her, Juvia's parents abandoned her... left her in an orphanage. Juvia never heard from them again.

**Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop.**

The kids at the orphanage do not like Juvia. Because Juvia brings the rain and the rain brings everyone down. The kids do not invite Juvia to play with them. They talk about Juvia behind her back. The rain comes down harder.

**Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop.**

Juvia has a friend now. His name is Teru Teru Bozu. He is so cute. Juvia is happy. Juvia can almost feel the rain letting up. He will be Juvia's friend forever. Perhaps with him, Juvia can finally be free of the rain.

**Drip Drip Drop.**

The kids bully Juvia again. They stepped on Juvia's friend. What did Teru Teru Bozu do to the kids? He doesn't deserve that. The rain comes harder because Juvia is sad. Juvia brings the rain and the rain brings everyone down.

**Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop.**

Juvia has grown older. But the rain still follows Juvia. It is still Juvia's unwanted friend, her only friend. Juvia wishes to have another friend. Teru Teru Bozu is still with Juvia but she learned long ago that it does not slow the rain anymore.

No one wants to be Juvia's friend because the rain always follows Juvia. Just one friend. That is Juvia's earnest wish. If she can have just one friend, she won't ask for anything else again. Please, just one friend.

**Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop.**

Juvia has become a mage. It is the only job suitable for Juvia. She brings the rain and the rain brings everyone down. She is known as Rain Woman. The rain doesn't bother Juvia anymore. It is her only friend, her unwanted friend.

**Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop.**

Juvia hears them. The words, they hurt Juvia. The rain is so depressing. Whenever it rains, everyone is depressed. Juvia brings the rain and the rain brings everyone down.

**Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop.**

Juvia has a boyfriend now. Juvia is happy. His name is Bora. Bora is the first person to talk to Juvia in a long time. Juvia will do anything this man asks. Juvia has a lot of love to give and she wants this man to love her.

**Drip Drip Drop.**

Bora breaks up with Juvia. He can't stand the rain. Juvia doesn't mean to bring the rain. She can't stop it She has wished so many times to be done with the rain. But it is no use. Juvia brings the rain and the rain brings everyone down.

**Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop.**

Juvia has a purpose now. She has joined a guild. The Master is kind. He accepts Juvia the Rain Woman as she is. He doesn't care that Juvia brings the rain. Juvia is so happy. Juvia will not let the Master down.

**Drip Drip Drop.**

Juvia meets the other people in Phantom Lord, but they don't like Juvia. They just respect Juvia's power. There is one man in particular who doesn't like Juvia.

Tall.

Intimidating.

Hungry look in his eyes.

He attacks Juvia but Juvia's body is made of water. Physical attacks do not work on her.

He is surprised. Then he walks away.

The Master is pleased with Juvia. Juvia is so happy. She belongs here.

**Drip Drip Drop.**

Juvia is going on a mission. She is to capture a girl for the Master. Juvia must repay his kindness. She must capture the girl.

Juvia is successful. Lucy Heartfilia belongs to Phantom Lord.

**Drip Drip Drop.**

Fairy Tail wishes to make war with Phantom Lord. Juvia will not allow that. Phantom Lord has accepted Juvia, given her a purpose. Therefore, Juvia must crush Phantom Lord's enemies.

**Drip Drip Drop.**

Someone has come to Juvia. How foolish. Juvia will defeat the enemies of Phantom Lord.

Who is this man who dares to attack Phantom Lord?

Black spiky hair, deep black eyes, scowling, nice body.

Wait. What?

**Doki Doki.**

Juvia? Why is your heart beating so fast? He is an enemy. Juvia, why are you walking away? He is challenging you. He wishes to destroy Phantom Lord.

Juvia cannot allow that. Juvia is sorry. She must fight.

**WATER LOCK**

How horrible, Juvia. You hurt this man.

Wait. What?

He breaks out of Juvia's Water Lock? With ice?

Juvia has never thought ice to be beautiful before. This man... this man is...

**Drip Drip Drop. Doki Doki. Drip Drip Drop. Doki Doki**

Juvia wishes the circumstances were different but she must fight this man, this gorgeous man.

He tries to hurt Juvia with his ice but it goes right through her. Juvia can't be hurt by physical attacks.

**Drip Drip Drop. Doki Doki.**

Juvia can't stand it. She does not want to hurt this man, this man who is causing Juvia's heart to beat faster. Juvia tells him to give up Lucy. Sacrifice one to save the rest. It is reasonable, right? Juvia can tell that this man is smart. He'll make the right decision.

**Drip Drip Drop. Doki Doki.**

Juvia can't believe it. He's willing to give up his life for Lucy. What is Lucy to him? What does Lucy have that Juvia doesn't? Love Rival? Juvia can't forgive Lucy. Juvia won't forgive Lucy.

**Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop. Doki Doki. Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop. Doki Doki.**

Juvia will show this man that she is superior to Lucy but he freezes me and grabs my breast. Juvia has never been touched before. Juvia knows she's blushing.

Then he lets me go?

Why?

This man, he is so kind.

Juvia can't fight him anymore. Juvia is too overwhelmed by this feeling. Juvia must confess.

**Drip Drip Drop. Doki Doki. Drip Drip Drop. Doki Doki**

Juvia is frustrated. She can't get the words out.

**Drip Drip Drop. Doki Doki. Drip Drip Drop. Doki Doki. Drip Drip Drop. Doki Doki**

Juvia can do it. She can tell him.

**Drip Drip Drop. Doki Doki. Drip Drip Drop. Doki Doki. Drip Drip Drop. Doki Doki. Drip Drip Drop. Doki Doki.**

Then he says it. He says the rain is depressing.

**Shatter**

Juvia remembers. She remembers her parents who cursed her with the rain. She remembers all of the kids who teased her. She remembers all of the people who say the rain is depressing. Why did she think that he was different? Nobody likes Juvia because Juvia brings the rain and the rain brings everyone down.

**Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop. Drip Drip Drop.**

Juvia will kill this man. There is no more need for love. The only thing Juvia needs is Phantom Lord who accepts Juvia for who she is.

But the man isn't overcome. He freezes the rain. For the first time in Juvia's life, the rain stops falling on her. Then he freezes Juvia. Her magic is gone. Juvia is defeated.

How appropriate. Juvia will fall like the rain. Juvia will no longer bring the rain that brings everyone down.

Wait. What?

Someone is grabbing Juvia's hand. The man... this gorgeous man. He saves Juvia? Why?

A light shines on Juvia's face. What is this?

The sun?

Juvia has never seen the sun since the day she was born. How warm. How bright.

Blue skies.

Juvia has never seen the blue skies since the day she was born. How pretty. How blue.

The rain is gone and it's all thanks to this man.

**Doki Doki. Doki Doki.**

Juvia is in love.

**Doki Doki. Doki Doki. Doki Doki. Doki Doki.**

Phantom Lord is no more but Juvia doesn't care. It is thanks to that man that Juvia has seen the sun. Juvia loves the sun. The rain, her unwanted friend, no longer falls on Juvia.

**Doki Doki. Doki Doki.**

Juvia is grateful to the man, the man she now knows as Gray.

How appropriate. Juvia's name means rain. When the rain comes, the sky turns Gray.

How compatible. Juvia is a water mage. Gray is an ice mage.

No. Juvia can't just call him Gray. He is the lord of Juvia's heart. He is Gray-sama.

**Doki Doki. Doki Doki.**

Juvia watches Gray-sama from afar. He is rebuilding his guild, the one that Juvia helped to destroy. Juvia wants to apologize but she is scared. What if he doesn't want to see Juvia? Juvia would be crushed. So Juvia will watch from afar.

**Doki Doki. Doki Doki.**

Gray-sama is on a mission with his team. He looks happy. He is smiling at that woman, Juvia's love rival. Juvia hates Lucy because Lucy gets Gray-sama's smiles. Oh, Gray-sama, why won't you smile for Juvia?

**Doki Doki. Doki Doki.**

Gray-sama is fighting the pink-haired man. He looks happy. Oh how Juvia wishes to be the cause of Gray-sama's happiness.

**Doki Doki. Doki Doki.**

Gray-sama is on another mission, leaving Juvia behind again.

Juvia is alone in her thoughts. The sun shines on her but she feels horrible.

Why can't Juvia tell Gray-sama how she feels? Why must she always stay in the shadows?

Juvia will do whatever Gray-sama asks. If Gray-sama is hungry, Juvia will cook for him. If Gray-sama says to fight, she will fight. If Gray-sama requires her life, Juvia will give it gladly. Because Gray-sama is the one who made the rain go away. So Juvia's life is his to do with as he wishes. So please, Gray-sama, look at Juvia.

Love Juvia.

**Doki Doki. Doki Doki. Doki Doki. Doki Doki.**

Juvia wonders if it was worth it. For the longest time, Juvia wished that she didn't bring the rain that brings everyone down. Now the rain is gone thanks to Gray-sama. But Gray-sama doesn't look at Juvia. Gray-sama ignores Juvia.

So which is worse? Having the rain follow Juvia but not falling in love or falling in love but having the one you love never look at you?

Juvia can't decide. But she's stuck now. She will continue loving Gray-sama no matter what because Gray-sama is the one who took Juvia's rain away.

**Doki Doki. Doki Doki.**

* * *

Word Count: 1893

**So there it is. If you haven't realized by now, this is Juvia's thoughts. I love Juvia's character. She is a woman with deep feelings and that makes her character fun to write. She's hot, she's cold. She's happy, She's sad. She hates, she loves. Juvia is a lot more complex than a lot of people see her.**

**If you noticed it by now, Juvia's feelings intensify with each Drip Drip Drop or each Doki Doki. I can't for the life of me remember the Japanese onomatopoeia sound for Drip Drip Drop but Doki Doki is the sound of one's heart beating. I found it most appropriate.**

**Love it? Hate it? Have no opinion one way or the other? Leave me a review. And also tell me whether or not you liked the way I wrote this. I probably won't do another one in this format but I am curious to see what people thought of this.**

**Here's a preview of the next chapter.**

_Every life needs a purpose, a reason for being. If they don't, then they are better off not being alive. Juvia found her purpose. She lives for Gray's sake and, should she need to, she'll die for his sake as well._

**This one I don't think anyone will guess. But good luck trying to figure out the E word here.**

**P.S. Does anyone feel a bit gypped that Gray and Lyon aren't fighting in this round of the tournament? I am so disappointed. I was kinda looking forward to it.**

**In any case, till next time.**

**A. Angel**


	5. E is for Existence

**Hello, boys and girls, I wanna tell a story.  
**

**I can't believe the feedback I've been getting for the project, especially my Gruvia one. I suppose that there are far too few Gruvia fics out there. We so need to change that.  
**

**Now to answer my reviews.  
**

**First of all, I am so happy that you all loved the format of the last chapter. I was kind of worried about how people are going to take it. The positive feedback brings me joy. Joy and cookies.  
**

**A note for this chapter. This chapter is what I like to call "The Money Shot". When I had conceived of the project. There were six one-shots that first came to my mind. Three Gruvias, Two Gales and one Nalu. These were the ones I really wanted to do. For this chapter, I took more time than usual to write this. I wanted it to be perfect as it was one of my favorite ideas. I really hope you like it. This is also a long one so hunker in.  
**

**Now to our feature presentation. (Also, eight points to IceNinjaWarrior, Gohanroxme and dorac for getting the word.)**

* * *

**E is for Existence**

_A life without purpose is a meaningless existence._

Gray sat in a chair, waiting by the bedside of Juvia Lockser. She was lying in the infirmary. Her beautiful blue eyes were closed. Bandages covered her from head to toe. She was attached to machines which helped her breathe and monitored her heartbeat.

Beside her, Wendy Marvell, the Sky Dragon Slayer, was using her magic to check up on Juvia. Her eyes were sad. Next to her was her constant companion, the female Exceed Carla. She tried her hardest to keep a straight face.

"I'm sorry, Gray-san." Wendy told him, tears welling in her eyes. "There's no change in Juvia-san. I'm trying everything I know but she's not responding."

Wendy started to cry. "I tried my very best but she still hasn't woken up."

Carla looked away, not wanting to show her own tears. As much as she wanted to, the white Exceed knew that it was Gray who was suffering the most. She had to be strong.

Gray got up off the chair and hugged Wendy. "I know you did. Thank you."

Wendy cried harder as Gray embraced her. "I'm sorry." She sobbed.

The ice mage rubbed her back gently, trying to calm her down. "You did your very best. I am grateful. And I know that Juvia is as well."

"Come on, Wendy." Carla spoke up for the first time since coming into the infirmary.

Wendy wanted to object but knew that Gray needed to be alone with his girlfriend. "I'll come by tomorrow and check on Juvia-san."

Gray nodded. "Thank you for all your hard work, Wendy."

Wendy left the infirmary, watching as Gray returned to his place beside Juvia's bed. More tears started to well up in her eyes.

Carla flew to pat her friend on the shoulder. "You are doing everything you can, Wendy." She spoke softly. However, it did little to reassure the young Dragon Slayer.

The two returned to the main hall of the guild where everyone was currently sitting. In fact, it looked like no one has moved since she did her daily check-up on the water mage.

The air in the guild was truly oppressive, quiet and somber, quite the opposite of what it usually is, loud, boisterous and jovial. It has been for the last five days.

Five days.

It's been five days since it happened.

The young girl looked around the guild. Natsu was currently embracing Lucy, who was sitting on his lap. She could smell from here that the Stellar Spirit mage had been crying. And Natsu, who was the loudest of all the guild members, was unusually quiet. They were there when it happened and saw the horror first hand. Happy was sitting next to them on the table. He was also oddly silent, not in the mood to live up to his name.

Erza was sitting across from the couple, trying to remain as strong as possible. But she felt guilty. The Knight was on another mission when it happened. _If only I hadn't taken that solo mission_, she thought.

Cana was sitting at her usual spot in the guild, the bar. Not a drop of alcohol has passed her lips in the past five days, which was almost a record for her. She wasn't in the mood to drink.

Levy was reading a medical book, trying her best to find something, anything, that would help Juvia out. Currently she was sitting against Gajeel, needing the extra comfort. The Iron Dragon Slayer said nothing, allowing her to take whatever comfort she needed from him.

Mirajane, Fairy Tail's bartender and moodmaker, was currently wiping the bar for the third time. She was cleaning so hard that the rag was ripping apart. She noticed Wendy had come back from the infirmary. The look on her face said it all. Juvia's condition hadn't improved.

Voices were barely above a whisper. Very few people took missions. Even fewer left the guild at all. Everyone was doing their best to occupy themselves: cards, dominos, food. But none of it worked for long. In fact, the only joyful sounds that could be heard was from Asuka, Alzack and Bisca's child. The reason for that was that she didn't know what was happening. Their parents, and the rest of the guild, didn't want her to worry.

Wendy broke down in tears again. "I'm sorry, everyone." She sobbed.

The Sky Dragon Slayer felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Master Makarov was the body attached to the hand. His gentle gaze calmed her a bit. "I know you did your best, Wendy. We all do." He said softly. "That's why you have to believe in Juvia, my child."

Wendy wiped her tears.

The master continued. "He knows that Juvia is going to wake up." The old man smiled. "Juvia would never leave him because she loves Gray and Fairy Tail so much. That's why we also have to believe in Juvia. Fairy Tail will never give up on one of its own."

As if on instinct, the entire guild extended their index and thumb in the air in a show of solidarity.

Wendy felt so much better after that.

* * *

Gray continued his vigil at Juvia's bedside. He took one of her hands and rubbed his thumb against her palm. He said nothing as he did this.

As for the ice mage himself, he looked like hell. His hair was disheveled and unwashed. His eyes had heavy bags around it from lack of sleep. His clothes were rumpled and smelled of sweat and grime. (One would find it ironic that his clothes was still on his body given his penchant for unconsciously stripping. However, since the day Juvia was in the infirmary, not a single article of clothing was removed.) Gray's overall demeanor was stoicism. He just waited patiently by her side. He refused to believe that Juvia wasn't going to wake up.

He kept going back to that day... that day five days ago.

* * *

It was a simple A-class mission. There were reports of zombies attacking the town of Fendel in the north. The request was sent to Fairy Tail. The details was simple. Find the cause of the zombies and stop it. The reward, 40 million jewels.

The reward money should have set off the warning bells in their head. That kind of reward was usually S-class based.

Natsu was the one who picked it up.

"Hey Luce." He shouted to his girlfriend of almost two months. "I got one."

Lucy looked at the request and then the reward. Her eyes nearly came out of their sockets. "40 million jewels?" She shrieked. "Are you sure that's right?"

"Of course it's right. It's on the board." There goes Natsu's logic again.

"But it could be a misprint or it could have come from the S-class board." Lucy tried to argue. "Remember the last time we did an S-class mission?"

Natsu remembered. Galuna Island. He remembered the request to destroy the moon, the demon Deliora, Gray's past and Erza's punishment.

Lucy chided him. "At the very least, check with Mira-san first to make sure it's legit."

Natsu huffed indignantly. "Fine."

He went over to the barmaid who was happily cleaning cups at the bar. "Hello, Natsu." She smiled. "What can I do for you?"

"Me and Luce want this mission." Natsu handed her the sheet of paper.

Mirajane studied the request for some time. "Well, it's labeled as an A-class mission but the reward is an S-class."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you." Lucy shot at her fire eating boyfriend.

Mira looked at the couple gravely. "I'll allow you to take the mission but don't go by yourselves. Take at least three people with you."

"Huh?" Was Natsu's clever response.

"There's something about this mission that's making me uneasy." The barmaid told them. "I'd feel better if you have backup."

"Fine." The Fire Dragon Slayer sighed, defeated.

He looked around the guild to see who'd he take with him. Erza was currently on a mission to destroy a dark guild. Gajeel was on a mission to hunt down the stragglers of Raven Tail. Gray was playing cards with his girlfriend Juvia while unconsciously shedding his shirt in the process.

"Gray!" Natsu shouted. "Get your shirt on. We're going on a mission."

"Dammit." Gray shouted and looked around for his shirt. When he found it, the ice mage made his way to Natsu and Lucy. "What's the mission?"

Natsu handed Gray the request form. He scanned the paper. "I'm in."

Juvia got up and was next to him in an instant. "Juvia wishes to come. She hasn't been on a group mission in a while."

Gray wrapped his arm around her waist. "Alright."

"Aww, it's like a couples retreat." Mira teased, causing all four to blush. "But you should take someone else on this."

As they were speaking, Wendy and Carla walked into the guild.

"Ahh, perfect timing." Mira smiled. "You should go on a mission with Natsu, Lucy, Gray and Juvia."

Carla was apprehensive. "I'm not sure. I don't want Wendy to be corrupted."

More blushing from the couples.

"Oh I'm sure that they'll behave themselves." Mira beamed, but there was a deadly aura coming from the S-class mage. That got everyone in line. "Besides, Wendy can heal anyone's wounds just in case."

"I will do my best to help." Wendy said softly, bowing to the group.

"Alright, let meet at the station tomorrow." Natsu yelled. "I'm all fired up."

Carla still wasn't sold on the idea. It wasn't that she was against Wendy being with the two couples. There was just this feeling in the back of her mind. It was like something was telling her that this wouldn't end well. The white Exceed only hoped it was just her fears instead of a vision.

* * *

The day of the mission, Natsu, Lucy and Happy met up with Juvia, Gray, Wendy and Carla at Magnolia Station.

"Sorry we're late." Lucy greeted. "Natsu's acting like his old self again."

The Fire Dragon Slayer looked green. "I don't wanna go on the train."

"Don't worry, Natsu-san." Wendy comforted. "I'll cast Troia on you."

Natsu perked up instantly. "Awesome." He grinned. "I'm all fired up."

"Don't waste your magic on this flame-brain, Wendy." Gray taunted, who somehow lost his shirt. "Let him suffer for being late."

"What did you say, ice queen?" Natsu challenged.

"You want to go, slanty-eyes?" The ice mage roared.

"Anytime, droopy-eyes." The fire-breathed shot back.

Before the fight escalated any further, the two men were stopped by their respective girlfriends. The train arrived soon after.

It was a very quiet ride. Natsu, who had Troia cast on him, was happily riding the train and able to converse with Lucy without losing his breakfast. Lucy was reading a book while talking with her boyfriend. Gray and Juvia had fallen asleep together. Gray's arm was around Juvia's waist while she was resting her head on his shoulder. Wendy was staring out the window, looking at the sights in wonder. Happy was trying to make nice to Carla by offering her fish.

And Carla? Well she couldn't help but feel withdrawn. Last night, she wasn't sure if she had a bad dream or a prophecy. She didn't want to talk about it with anymore for fear of getting them unnecessarily worried. It wasn't as though she was traveling with weak mages. Every one on this trip was capable of taking on any challenge. There was just that traitorous thought in her head saying that everyone was going be hurt.

"Carla, is something wrong?" Happy asked, concerned.

Carla was shot out of her thoughts. "Huh, what?" She answered intelligently. "Oh, it's nothing. Nothing at all." But she wasn't even convincing herself.

"Really?" The blue Exceed was now worried.

"Just a bad dream." She told him. Carla refused to believe that her visions was that of the future. It was a dream, just a dream.

"If you say so." Happy didn't want to push so he left her alone.

The rest of the trip was uneventful.

* * *

The team entered Fendel and saw that it was already under attack by zombies. The Fairy Tail mages didn't waste any time by attacking the creatures.

Juvia launched a Water Slicer from afar. Gray used Ice Make Lance. Lucy summoned Sagittarius who fired a barrage of arrows. Natsu used his Fire Dragon's Roar. Wendy stayed behind to provide support with Arms, Armor and Vernier. With their combined might, the zombies were cleaned up.

"Okay. That seems too easy." Gray noted.

"Juvia thinks that we should be on guard."

The others agreed.

Suddenly, the team could hear the sound of clapping echoing.

"Well, well. So there's another group of mages who think they can stop me." A voice asked snidely.

The team looked around for the source of the voice. From one of the building, a slim build man with long purple hair walked out calmly, a smile on his face.

"Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, Quatro Ceberus, Twilight Ogre, Mermaid Heel. Members of these guilds have challenged me. All have failed." He boasted.

Everyone got themselves into a battle formation.

"I am Dynos the Necromancer." He greeted. "So what is the name of the foolish guild that is challenging me?"

Natsu growled. "You'll regret calling us foolish."

Gray's eyes narrowed. "We're Fairy Tail."

"Ahh Fairy Tail." Dynos clucked his tongue. "The once great guild which now is a shadow of its former self."

Everyone's blood started to boil as the Necromancer spoke bad about their guild.

"Well, I suppose we are going to do the fighting thing now." Dynos mocked. "Let's see. Today's opponents are a fire mage, an ice mage, a water mage, a Stellar Spirit mage, a support magic mage and two cats. How amusing."

Natsu and Gray couldn't take it anymore. They charged at the enemy.

**FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST**

**ICE MAKE KNUCKLE**

Dynos dodged each of the blows. However, the two didn't let up.

Eventually, they both connected, throwing the Necromancer back.

"Good, good." Dynos laughed dangerously. "It looks like you'll give me a good fight."

**WATER CANE**

Juvia's Water Cane hit Dynos square in the chest, throwing him to the ground. However, the best part of Juvia's attack was that it left a thin stream of water on the ground. Gray took advantage of that and froze the stream. The freezing stream led to Dynos, solidifying him to the ground. Natsu jumped in the air so that he was square with Dynos.

**FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR**

Natsu's attack engulfed the Necromancer.

"That takes care of that." Natsu slammed his fists together. "No one talks bad about Fairy Tail and gets away with it."

"Did you think that it would end that quickly?" Dynos asked.

The fires were dissipated. Dynos stood up without difficulty. His clothes was singed but otherwise, he was fine.

"Nice, nice." The Necromancer cheered. "I am so glad that I have the chance to fight such strong mages. When I kill you all, you'll make fine undeads."

"You won't kill us." Lucy shouted. "We'll defeat you here."

Dynos raised his hands and used gestures as he chanted.

_Those who are born in sin, come forth in the name of the Necromancer._

**RISE OF THE UNDEAD**

From the ground, zombies crawled out of the ground to stand against the Fairy Tail mages.

Lucy shivered involuntarily. "Creepy."

Wendy was a bit hesitant as well. "Like out of a horror story."

"Don't be afraid of them. Just crush them." Gray snapped.

Dynos laughed malevolently. "My I have made contracts with the Lords of the Underworld and now I have zombies at my beck and call."

"It doesn't matter to me." Gray told the Necromancer. "We'll crush them all."

The team prepared themselves and attacked the zombies, destroying them in a flash.

"Not bad. Perhaps, I need help from stronger monsters." Dynos said snidely.

_Those who sleep beyond the maelstrom, come forth in the name of the Necromancer._

**UNHOLY COVENANT**

Darkness settled around the battlefield. It took shape in the form of demons the size and shape of humans.

Dynos cackled. "Do you see? These are demons from the age of Zeref. He was the greatest dark wizard of his age. And I plan on becoming the greatest dark wizard of this age."

Natsu snarled. "Such bullshit. We'll beat you here and now."

The team worked to defeat the demons. The demons were tougher than the zombies but they were able to overcome them. However, they were getting exhausted.

"We're getting nowhere." Lucy told the team. "If we are only defeating the summons, we'll run out of magic before we defeat this guy."

"We need to defeat that guy." Wendy yelled.

"Defeat me?" Dynos asked in a mocking tone. "Do you believe yourself to be that strong? Perhaps the Fairy Tail of old could have defeated me. But this shadow of a guild is way too weak."

Dynos pointed to the team with his left hand.

_Behold the annihilating darkness_

**VOID INFINITY**

A sphere of darkness appeared from Dynos hand. It grew larger and larger.

Gray moved in front his nakama and held his hands in the Ice Make position.

**ICE MAKE SHIELD**

Using much of his magic, Gray created a sphere of ice to protect his comrades. It enveloped the area around them.

When Void Infinity dissipated, the Ice Make mage withdrew the shield. Gray collapsed to the ground, exhausted. His breath coming in shallow pants.

"Gray-sama." Juvia shouted. "Hang in there."

"Juvia." Gray told her. "I need you to come here."

Juvia obeyed and ran to her boyfriend's side. "Gray-sama is hurt. He needs to rest." Juvia pleaded.

"We don't have the time to rest." Gray growled. He looked at his other nakama. "Natsu, Lucy, Wendy, me and Juvia are going to do Unison Raid."

Juvia's eyes widened. "But Gray-sama used too much magic."

Gray looked Juvia in her eyes. He had such a serious look on his face. "Please, Juvia. We can do this."

Juvia nodded. "Gray-sama shouldn't push himself."

Gray waved the water mage to him. "Help me stand, Juvia."

Juvia helped Gray get to his feet. He steadied himself in his girlfriend's embrace. They pooled their magic together. With one of his arms around Juvia's waist, her arm on Gray's shoulder. The couple intertwined their free hands. With a slight nod to each other, Gray and Juvia stared down Dynos.

"Let me guess. You are going to show me about the power of love?" He mocked. "Then come foolish mages.

_Those who are born in sin, come forth in the name of the name of the Necromancer._

**RISE OF THE UNDEAD**

Dynos called for more zombies.

Gray and Juvia were prepared with their Unison Raid.

**UNISON RAID - FRIGID COFFIN**

Dynos felt a powerful magic collecting around him. Reacting, the Necromancer tried to move only to find himself frozen in an sphere of ice.

"What is this?" He questioned, struggling to get away.

Gray dropped to his knees as soon as the Unison Raid was complete.

"Gray-sama." Juvia shouted as she held Gray's weakened body in her arms.

"Damn. I'm all out." Gray thought to himself.

"What are you waiting for?" He yelled at Natsu, Lucy and Wendy. "Finish him."

The others nodded.

Lucy held a key towards the sky.

_Open the gate to the Lamb, Aries_

From the ether, the Spirit Aries appeared.

"I'm sorry." Aries whispered.

"Don't be sorry." Lucy chided softly. "Just help us stop the zombies long enough for Natsu and Wendy to finish off that guy."

"Okay." The lamb spirit said without an ounce of confidence.

**WOOL WALL**

Aries summoned a wave of wool to trap the zombies.

"I'm sorry." She apologized.

"No, you did great." Lucy told the lamb Spirit. "Natsu, Wendy. Do it now." She shouted.

Natsu and Wendy ran towards Dynos who was trying to free himself from the ice sphere.

"You're finished." Natsu yelled.

Wendy didn't say anything. She just devoured the air around her.

**SECRET DRAGON TECHNIQUE - CRIMSON LOTUS EXPLODING BLADE**

**SECRET DRAGON TECHNIQUE - SHATTERING LIGHT, SKY DRILL**

Natsu and Wendy waved their arms, summoning fire and wind respectively from their hands. Aiming at Dynos, they launched their strongest attacks at the Necromancer whose eyes widened in horror as they molded together in another unison raid.

**UNISON RAID - FLARE DRAGON'S TORNADO**

Dynos was consumed by Natsu and Wendy's magic.

Wendy fell exhausted. Carla flew to her. "Are you alright, Wendy?"

The young girl chuckled. "I think I might have overdid it."

"That's what he got for badmouthing Fairy Tail." Natsu yelled.

Lucy just chuckled. "I think I'm beat."

Aries's eyes widened. "You're exhausted because you summoned me. I'm sorry." She closed her own gate.

Juvia held on to Gray who was completely drained. "We did it, Gray-sama."

"Seems like it." The ice mage said weakly.

As they were congratulating themselves, the team heard an unearthly roar. They located the source of the roar coming from a mound of zombies. A hand shout out from the mound and pulled itself out.

"No way." Wendy lamented. "He was hit with Natsu-san and my strongest attack. How can he still fight?"

From the mound of zombies, Dynos the Necromancer pulled himself up. The mage had used the zombies to absorb the brunt of the attack but he was still hurt by it. He looked completely spent. His body had scorch marks on it. But his eyes radiated fury.

"All of you must die." He shouted.

_O hellion whose roar chills the very soul, resound._

**BLOODY HOWLING**

He summoned a dark circular orb and shot it at Wendy, who was thrown back.

"Wendy." Carla shouted and flew to help.

Natsu looked pissed. "I'll make you pay for that." He growled.

**FIRE DRAGON'S WING ATTACK**

The Fire Dragon Slayer charged at the Necromancer, flames wrapping around his arm. But Dynos was prepared for him.

_Trembling cage that bends empty space, drive the wedge of freedom into those who would be captured._

**NEGATIVE BLADE**

Dynos summoned a blade of dark energy. With a mighty swing, his blade met with Natsu's flames. The Dragon Slayer was overcome and thrown back by the blowback.

"You insects think you are better than me?" Dynos roared. "I'll make you pay."

_O admonishing melody, arise in the name of the Necromancer._

**MYSTIC CAGE**

Black chains wrapped around the Fairy Tail mages and constricted them. Then the chains exploded, hurting the mages.

"Now know what true power is." Dynos sneered. "You fools will regret you ever met me."

Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Juvia and Wendy felt exhausted. Pain radiated from their bodies. But still they defiantly stared down the Necromancer.

"So you still look defiant." Dynos spat, walking towards the closest mage. It turned out to be Gray and Juvia. "You will be the first to die, ice mage."

Juvia struggled to her feet, putting herself in front of her beloved Gray-sama. "Juvia will not let Gray-sama die." She glared at the Necromancer. "Juvia will defeat you."

Answering Juvia's fury, the sky darkened. Rain began to fall on the battlefield.

"Juvia." Gray groaned. He tried to stand to his feet but his magic was totally drained after using his ice magic to absorb the Void Infinity spell. The black-haired mage collapsed.

Dynos held out his hand. "It's raining?" He mused. "How?"

"Juvia is angry." The water mage seethed. "You hurt Juvia's nakama. You hurt Gray-sama. Juvia will defeat you."

**WATER NEBULA**

Juvia summoned two waves of water which hit Dynos forcefully, throwing him to the ground.

"You bitch." Dynos snarled.

**NEGATIVE BLADE**

Dynos summoned his dark blade and slashed at Juvia. However, it passed right through Juvia.

"Juvia's body is made of water. Physical attacks do not work on Juvia." She told the Necromancer.

**WATER SLICER**

Juvia's water attack cut Dynos who groaned in pain. His mouth covered in blood, the Necromancer smirked.

"So your body is made of water." He grinned sadistically. "I see. Then, I suppose I'll attack your boyfriend."

Dynos ran towards Gray. The ice mage tried to stand up and defend himself but his body wouldn't respond

"Dammit. I can't move." He shouted.

Before he knew it, Dynos was standing over him.

"Die." Dynos snarled.

As his fist was about to connect with Gray, Juvia intervened, using her body to protect Gray. As expected, Dynos's fist went through her water body.

"I knew you'd protect him." He smiled maliciously.

**THUNDER FLARE**

Electricity passed from his fist through Juvia's body. The water mage let out a heart wrenching scream.

"Juvia." Everyone shouted.

Gray was stunned. Right before his eyes, his girlfriend is suffering and his body wasn't responding. Tears started to collect in his eyes.

Dynos laughed. "As I figured. Since you have a water body, you act as a natural current for thunder based magic." The Necromancer cackled.

Gray couldn't take it anymore. Ignoring the pain in his body, he crawled over to his girlfriend. "Juvia. Juvia." He shouted.

Juvia opened her eyes and smiled. It was a serene smile which was at contrast with the gravity of her situation. "Thank goodness Gray-sama is safe."

Gray now let the tears fall freely and hugged Juvia. "You idiot." He whispered. "You're injured."

"Juvia is happy she protected Gray-sama." She whispered back. "Juvia has no problem dying if it means that Gray-sama will live."

"No don't say that." He begged. "You are going to live."

"The last seven months have been a dream to Juvia. She was so happy to receive Gray-sama's love. Juvia has no regrets." Juvia closed her eyes.

"Juvia loves Gray-sama." Those were the last words that she said to him.

There was a silence in the air that hung over everyone. The rain disappeared completely. Gray hugged Juvia and rocked her gently, wanting her to open her eyes.

The others watched in horror as Juvia's magic started to fade.

Then, something happened.

A torrent of ice exploded from Gray. He yelled out in anger. Letting go of Juvia, the enraged ice mage stood up. The pain in his body meant nothing. All he felt was rage... RAGE... **RAGE** directed at Dynos.

**ICE MAGE GUNGNIR**

The giant ice lance knocked the Necromancer back away from his girlfriend.

"Wendy." Gray shouted.

The Sky Dragon Slayer jumped at the sound of her name. "Yes, Gray-san?" She squeaked. Her body hurt from the Mystic Cage spell but she powered through the pain and was by his and Juvia's side.

"Please heal Juvia." He begged. With that, he charged at Dynos who was still recovering from the hit.

**COLD EXCALIBUR**

**NEGATIVE BLADE**

The two powers collided however Gray easily overcame Dynos.

Wendy tried her best to heal Juvia but she was so drained of magic that she wasn't able to properly help her.

Carla flew to Wendy's side. "You're exhausted." Carla whispered.

"I need to help Juvia." The young girl cried. "I have to save her. Gray-san is counting on me."

"We need to head back to Fairy Tail." The white Exceed told her. "Happy, you need to take Juvia."

Happy, who was crying, wiped his tears. "Aye." He said with conviction.

"But I haven't started healing her." Wendy's tears flowed freely

"Take Juvia and go." Natsu yelled to them as he got up. "Me, Lucy and Gray will take care of this guy."

"Please take care of Juvia." Lucy pleaded.

Happy carried Juvia while Carla carried Wendy. They headed to Fairy Tail where Juvia could receive the care she needed. Gray watched them go. Although he wanted to be with her, the ice mage had to destroy the man who hurt his Juvia.

Dynos was beyond pissed. "How?" He snarled. "You shouldn't be able to cast magic, let alone stand against me."

Gray glared at the man. "The Master once said that when humans strive to protect the ones they love, that is when they generate the most power. In that moment, they truly become formidable beings."

He got into the ice make position. "You hurt Juvia." He growled. "I will spare no strength to bring you down."

Dynos stood up. "Then come. You can join your woman in death."

_Those who are born in sin, come forth in the name of the Necromancer._

**RISE OF THE UNDEAD**

Dynos summoned his undead minions.

Gray ran towards the Necromancer, fighting the zombies along the way

"Gray, don't waste your strength." Lucy pleaded. "Natsu and I will take care of it."

_Open the gate of the lion, Loke._

Loke appeared from the ether. "I'll rip through them, Lucy." He told his master seriously.

**REGULUS BLAST**

Loke's magic ripped through the zombies. Gray ignored the zombies. Instead, he ran towards the Necromancer.

Dynos snarled as his zombies were wiped out by the Fairy Tail mages. "Fine."

_Those who sleep beyond the maelstrom, come forth in the name of the Necromancer._

**UNHOLY COVENANT**

Dynos summoned his demons. However, Natsu crushed them with his fire magic.

"Gray, go." Natsu yelled at him.

Gray was furious. He wanted to rip this man to pieces.

Dynos stared down his enemy. "So you persist?" He asked. "Fine. Then I'll use nothing less than my full strength to take you down."

_Awaken those who sleep in the netherworld and feed. The time is ripe. Come forth and devour my foes, those that defy destiny._

**DEATH IN THE DARK**

Black magic enveloped Dynos's hands. "This is my strongest spell." He cackled madly. "As soon as it hits you, it'll sap the life from you and it won't stop until you die. Join the ranks of the fallen, ice mage."

He launched his spell at Gray. To his utter amazement, Gray ran at the spell head-on and punched it with his fist.

"You must have a death wish, ice mage." Dynos laughed.

With all of his anger, Gray poured all of his magic into freezing the spell. Slowly but surely, Dynos's Death in the Dark spell started to freeze solid.

"Impossible." Dynos gasped in horror. "He's freezing the spell and I can't stop it."

At the end, Gray froze the spell completely, leaving Dynos's hands trapped in the ice. He struggled to get away.

"No. This can't be." The Necromancer snarled. "I'm the mage who's suppose to become the next Zeref."

Gray ran at Dynos, hands in the ice make position.

**ICE MAKE...**

Gray put his hand over Dynos's face

**LANCE**

Needless to say, that was the end of Dynos the Necromancer.

Lucy covered her mouth with her hands at the brutal efficiency with which Gray took down Dynos. Natsu looked on, steel-eyed. He was glad that Dynos was gone now. The Fire Dragon Slayer would have done it himself but he understood that Gray wouldn't have forgiven him if he did. This was something Gray had to do himself.

After dispatching the Necromancer, Gray let out a terrifying yell. Magic flew everywhere.

"Gray." Lucy whispered, unable to raise her voice.

"Gray, go back to Fairy Tail. Juvia needs you." Natsu shouted.

That got the ice mage to stop. Taking a few deep breaths to center himself, Gray collected himself. "You're right, Natsu."

"Me and Luce will clean up here. Go to her." The Dragon Slayer ordered.

Gray needed no other prompting. He was on the next train to Magnolia.

* * *

Gray arrived at the guild in four hours. He was completely drained of magic and his body hurt. However, he was more concerned with Juvia so he pushed his body onward. Four hours. For four hours, many questions ran through his mind. How was Juvia? Was she hurt? Was she better? Did she...

"NO." He muttered to himself. "I refuse to believe she would die."

As he opened the door, Gray was met by Erza Scarlet. Her face said it all. She was worried.

"Gray." Erza whispered solemnly, unable to meet his onyx eyes.

"What?" He shouted. "What happened to Juvia?"

He looked around the guild. In one corner, the exhausted bodies of Happy and Carla were sitting on one of the tables, completely spent of magic. So they made it back to Fairy Tail, he thought. But he didn't see Wendy or his girlfriend.

"Where's Juvia, Erza?" He shouted. Gray was getting more hysterical by the moment.

"Wendy and Porlyusica are currently treating Juvia in the infirmary." Erza explained softly.

"I need to see her." Gray commanded.

"Not until they say it's okay." The red-haired woman told him.

Gray's eyed widened in anger. "Move, Erza." He yelled.

"Let them do their job." She told him.

Gray, in his grief, tried to rush Erza but she held him firm. The ice mage struggled against Erza and nearly overcame her when Wendy and Porlyusica exited the infirmary. The Sky Dragon Slayer collapsed due to her exhaustion. Erza let go of Gray to grab Wendy.

"Wendy, are you alright?" Erza asked.

Wendy fell asleep in Erza's arms.

Gray looked at Porlyusica. "How is she?" He asked, not trusting his voice.

The medic looked at the ice mage with stony eyes. "The girl took a thunder spell in her water body. It's thrown off her natural pacemaker. She is also completely exhausted of magic."

"What does that mean?" Gray asked.

"It means that if she doesn't wake up in the next week, I don't think she'll wake up at all." Porlyusica told him in a cold, clinical voice.

Gray refused to believe it. Juvia couldn't be gone. Without a word, he ran towards the infirmary.

There, lying on one of the beds, was his beloved Juvia. She was hooked up to machines and bandaged from head to toe. It was a horrifying sight. In fact, Gray refused to believe that it was Juvia lying there. She looked so alien to him.

Taking one of the chairs in the room, Gray pulled it up next to Juvia's bed. And there he sat, keeping vigil over his beloved Juvia.

* * *

He said nothing during the first day. Gray felt like this was just a bad dream. He would wake up and realize that none of this actually happened.

The next day, Gray was angry at everyone. He was angry at Natsu for choosing the mission that got Juvia hurt. He was angry at Mirajane for letting them go on a mission that was so obviously S-class. He was angry at Dynos for hurting Juvia. He was angry at Juvia for throwing away her life for his. But mostly, Gray was angry at himself. For all of his strength, he could do nothing to protect the most precious person in his life. What good was his power if he couldn't protect Juvia?

On day three, everyone stopped trying to convince him to go home. Wendy came to check up on Juvia every day. Mirajane brought Gray food and a washcloth. People from the guild would visit her and try to comfort the ice mage.

By day five, Gray got concerned. Juvia had made no progress. Even though Wendy and Porlyusica had tried their best, his girlfriend didn't respond. She just continued to lie there.

A full week went by and Juvia still hadn't woken up. Gray became worried. He didn't want to believe that Juvia wouldn't recover. It hurt to think about a life without Juvia.

It was then that Gray remembered Juvia's last words to him. She told him that she had no problem giving up her life for him. And then Juvia said that she loved him. That's what hurt him the most. Once again, a woman close to Gray's heart was sacrificing themselves so he would live.

Gray had one regret in his relationship with Juvia. It had to do with the three words he never said to her. Three words, eight letters, 1.2 seconds to say. Those words carried a lot of weight with him. But in the seven months that they were together, he couldn't say it to her. It wasn't as if he didn't feel the same way that she did. He was just scared.

Gray had known love before. He loved his parents. He loved Ur. But every time he said those words, the people he loved died. He wanted to write it off as a horrible coincidence but deep down, in his heart of hearts, Gray always felt that his love is what killed them. So he vowed never to let anyone get that close to him again.

But he would break that promise because of Juvia. This woman, without cessation or dissuasion, found her way into his heart. The love that he refused to feel again burst out when Juvia entered his life.

However, Gray still didn't say those words. Part of him knew he was being childish. Gray was a rational person. He knew that there was no correlation between his love and people dying. But still, he was afraid. If the best thing in his life just disappeared, Gray felt like he would be lost forever.

Now, he cursed himself. Sure Gray showed Juvia that he loved her through his actions. But he never said those words. It wasn't as if he didn't try. Every time he wanted to say it, the words died on his lips. Gray felt that as long as he didn't say the words, Juvia would live. He realized now how foolish that kind of thinking was.

Gray was terrified. If Juvia were to die without knowing that he loved her, it would break him.

And so, as Gray stroked Juvia's arm gently with his fingers, his heart opened up.

"Juvia." He whispered. "Baby, you need to get up. You've been sleeping for so long. Everyone is waiting for you to get up."

He felt his eyes water. "Juvia, there's something I need to tell you but I refuse to say it while you are sleeping. That's why you need to get up."

His breaths started coming in short pants. "Juvia, I'm scared. I'm scared to imagine a life without you. I mean, who's going to call me Gray-sama? Who's going to on missions with me? Who's going to hang out with me? Who's going to get jealous of every girl that looks at me? Who's going to tell me that she loves me? That's why you can't die. That's why you have to live."

Gray grabbed Juvia's hand. "Juvia, every person who ever got close to me has died. Mom, dad, Ur... It took me a long time to get to a place where the weight of their deaths didn't shackle me. It took me a long time to love again. That's why I am scared. You could die without knowing how much..." Even now, he couldn't say those words. "Juvia, if you were to die, I think that would be the end of me. So please wake up. Please."

He was so focused on Juvia that he didn't hear the clatter outside of the infirmary.

Mirajane was bringing Gray some food when she overheard his speech. When she heard those heart wrenching words, she dropped the tray she was carrying. The barmaid ran from the door of the infirmary in tears, tears that she shed for Gray and Juvia.

* * *

Ten days had passed, ten days since that horrible incident. Gray was asleep next to Juvia's bed, his head on her arm when he felt something stir. Sleepily, Gray lifted his head and put it down again to find that her arm was gone. It registered immediately. Quick as a whip, he looked up to see Juvia sitting up on the bed, looking at him.

"Gray-sama?" She whispered hesitantly.

"Juvia?" He responded in the same voice. "Is this a dream?"

Juvia shook her head. "Juvia doesn't think so."

All at once, Gray got up. He was a bit uncertain but as he wrapped his arms around her, he was convinced. This was real. Juvia was real.

"I thought I lost you." Gray whispered in her ear.

Juvia wrapped her arms around Gray. "Juvia is sorry she caused Gray-sama to worry."

Gray then let go of Juvia to look her straight in the eyes. "Don't you ever do that again, Juvia." He said forcefully.

Juvia's sapphire eyes looked on in bewilderment. "Juvia doesn't understand."

"You said that you don't mind dying for my sake." Gray told her.

"That's right, Gray-sama." Juvia sighed. "Every life needs a purpose, a reason for their existence. Without that, they're better off dead. For Juvia, her purpose is protect Gray-sama, even if it means her life."

Gray's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Then you must think of me a fool, Juvia."

Juvia was shocked. "Gray-sama..." She pleaded.

"You must think of me a fool for loving that which you'd throw away so easily." He bit out.

A lone tear fell from her eye. "Gray-sama." She cried.

"You have no idea how worried I was... we were... while you were in this coma, Juvia." He answered. "We had no idea whether you were going to live or die and now you are telling me that you don't mind dying for me?" He growled.

Gray knew he was being harsh on Juvia, especially when she just got up but she needed to understand.

"You hate to see others get hurt but you don't mind getting hurt yourself." Gray's voice got higher. "You don't even understand how much you hurt the ones you hold dear when we see you being hurt."

"Gray-sama." More tears started to fall. "Juvia just..."

He silenced her. "No, you need to listen. You need to hear this, Juvia."

Gray took a deep breath. "Juvia, I told you right after the battle of Fairy Tail that you must never consider your life insignificant. You must fight with all of your strength to protect your precious people."

"But Gray-sama, sometimes a sacrifice needs to be made." Juvia told him. "Fairy Tail and Gray-sama make Juvia so happy. So she doesn't mind having to die to protect them. They are that important to her."

Gray was furious. Did she understand what she was saying? "Juvia, you listen to me." He grounded out. "You can't protect anyone when you're dead."

Juvia gasped, her hands covering her mouth. "Gray-sama." She breathed.

"You can't protect anyone when you're dead so don't choose death to protect the ones you love. If you want to protect them, you have to live." He told her.

Juvia's eyes widened. The tears in her eyes stopped falling.

"Juvia" He firmly told her. "I don't want you to die for my sake. I want you to live for me."

Juvia couldn't believe what she was hearing. Those words pierced her heart.

"Juvia, when you were out these last ten days, I was worried, worried that you'd leave me. I got scared when I thought about a world without you. I thought about your smile, your voice, the way you talked, everything." Gray felt tears stinging his eyes. "Juvia, if you were to die, the pain would kill me too. So please don't die for my sake."

Juvia felt the tears again. This time it was for her boyfriend. She grabbed Gray's hand. "Gray-sama, Juvia is sorry. She will never sacrifice her life ever again."

"Do you promise, Juvia?" He asked childishly. He needed that extra reassurance. "If you promise, then you have to keep it."

"Juvia promises."

With that, Gray quickly leaned into Juvia and kissed her, pouring all of his worry, anger, and love into it. She needed to know how much she meant to him.

When they parted, Gray put his hand on her cheek and caressed it. Juvia leaned into the touch.

"There's something else, Juvia." He told her.

"What is it, Gray-sama?" She whispered.

He sighed. "While you were sleeping, I was here, thinking about our relationship. I had one regret."

Juvia didn't expect him to say that. "Gray-sama has a regret?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yes. In the seven months that we've been dating, there was something I never said to you. The reason was that I was scared."

"Gray-sama was scared?" She repeated.

"I thought that as long as I didn't say those words to you, you wouldn't die. Every time I said those words to people, they would die. So I figured that if I didn't say them to you, you would live. But as you laid here on the verge of life and death, I was mad at myself for not telling you."

"Gray-sama, Juvia doesn't understand." She whispered.

"But I'm not afraid anymore." He continued. "So I want to say... Juvia Lockser, I love you."

Juvia couldn't believe was she was hearing. Sure she knew that Gray cared about her. She knew that he liked her. But love? Gray loved her?

"Juvia, I love you. That's why you have to live." He told her.

She smiled. "Juvia loves Gray-sama too."

Gray, after unloading his heart, moved again to kiss Juvia. This time, it was a slow and purposeful kiss, one that carved out his wish for her.

When he was done, Gray smiled at Juvia, who was in the middle of stifling a yawn. "You must be tired." He told her.

"Juvia is sick of sleeping." She answered with another cute yawn.

"Don't fight it. Just go to sleep." Gray caressed her cheek.

"Will Gray-sama be here when Juvia wakes up?" She asked, her eyes fluttering.

"Even better."

With that, Gray quickly undressed to his boxers and slid into the bed with her.

"Gray-sama." She blushed.

"I'm exhausted too." He shrugged. "That's why I'm going to sleep in this bed with you."

Normally, Juvia would have fought a little harder. But she was too tired to fight. Instead, she curled up next to him, putting her hand on the Fairy Tail stamp on his chest. He responded by wrapping his arm around her waist. The two of them fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

Mirajane Strauss had prepared another meal for Gray, whose vigil still hadn't stop. When she entered the infirmary, she saw quite the sight. Gray was no longer on the chair next to Juvia's bed. In fact, he was in Juvia's bed, sleeping with her.

She was somewhat curious so she ambled closer and saw that both Gray and Juvia were intertwined on the bed. Each had the same smile on their faces.

Mira had to be sure so she placed her index and middle finger on Juvia's neck to feel for a pulse. But she didn't need to when she heard Juvia whisper Gray's name.

Mira smiled and left the tray on the chair, giving them their privacy.

She made her way to the main hall of the guild where everyone was still feeling down. Mira got on top of the bar, grabbing the attention of everyone in the guild.

"Juvia is going to be okay." She told them in a loud voice.

In an instant, the oppressive air that had hung over Fairy Tail was lifted. People cheered and celebrated their comrade's recovery. They partied and laughed, releasing all of their sorrows and replacing it with joy.

Juvia never sacrificed her life for Gray's again. Gray never wasted a day without telling Juvia how much he loved her.

Every life needs a purpose for their existence. That much is true. Gray and Juvia lived for each other's sake. They loved each other. That is the purpose for their existence.

* * *

_Word Count: 7900_

**Wow. That was long.**

**The antagonist, Dynos the Necromancer, was based off of the character from Arc Rise Fantasia. I didn't bother giving him a back story because he's a throwaway. As for his magic, some of it was based off of the same game and some of it was based off of the Tales series. I hope I kept the fight PG-13.  
**

**The reason this story came about is because I think that Gray would have the hardest time accepting the death of a loved one, especially since he'd seen it many times. And Juvia probably considers her life to be less than Gray. So I think she would have no problem sacrificing herself for him. I think he would be angry with her for doing that.**

**So what did you think? Loved it? Hated it? Have no opinion one way or the other? Leave me a review. I really want to hear from you all.**

**Here's the prompt for the next chapter.**

_Gray had to laugh. It was always his dream to travel the world as a mage. But now, he felt the greatest joy whenever he was home with his wife and kid._

**This is an easy one. What's the F word here?**

**One final note. I'll be taking a week off from the project to spend it with my family. Also, I've been writing romance fics for a while that I need to do something else for this week to recharge. If you are interested in that fic, then look out for it.**

**I'll continue the project in a week.**

**Till next time.**

**A. Angel**


	6. F is for Family

**Hello. I am back and better now.  
**

**For those who have been following me, I wasn't in a very good mood yesterday. I had planned to start this fic yesterday but something threw me off the creative focus. What, you may ask? The reason was that I read the latest chapter of Fairy Tail. It made me angry. And so I converted my anger into a short fic. If you are interested, look it up sometime. Today, (or tonight rather), I am in a better mood. I can concentrate on the project. I'm good.  
**

**I'd like to thank you for all of the feedback you guys sent me. I was sooooooo happy with all of the reviews so I'll answer some of them here.  
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**To Ivory9, Yukari, and many guests, I am glad that I was able to make you feel what Gray was feeling. Gray's speech to Juvia was inspired by both D. and xXxholic where people are telling the protagonists that their life isn't worthless to people and not to choose death to protect their loved ones. I am not a fan of people dying for the sake of others, whether it be family, friends, lovers, whatever. I hate it. Death is permanent. Death is final. And people who say that they would die for their loved ones are, in my opinion, not truly respecting that person and their wishes for their loved ones to live. You may not agree with me on this and that's okay. I respect that.  
**

**To niners, Chris Redfield is currently battling the Hulk and other Marvel characters. Leon S. Kennedy needed a vacation away from Ashley. Jill Valentine got a job offer she couldn't refuse in the private sector. I hear they have great medical. As for the other names, I don't know who they are. And yes, I think that this would be the first time he's killed someone. And there are going to be consequences for his actions on that day. Don't you worry about that. As for being angry at Natsu, when something as traumatic as what Gray underwent with Juvia, he'd need an outlet for his frustrations and Natsu would be the obvious choice. I am sure he really didn't mean it.  
**

**To those who liked Dynos, I invite you to go to youtube and type in Arc Rise Fantasia and Dynos. You will hear his voice and then you will understand why he had to die in my fic. His basic grudge against the party is that no one loved him, that's why the world has to die.  
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**There's one more note I want to make with the last chapter. I had meant to say it before. When I came up with the battle scene, especially the part where Juvia intervenes to protect Gray and Gray's rage at Dynos, I had a song in mind. Look up Chaos Rings 2 on youtube and type in Hallowed Beast. That's the song I had in mind. Read that part again with that song and you're just going to be amazed.  
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**I was a little surprised though that no one picked up on the fact that I had mentioned what happened to Juvia in chapter three in the snow sculptures.  
**

**As for this chapter, we all need some healing after the most recent FT chapter. So I present fluff, available in regular and super modes. Here it is. Also, two points to animeluv679, Ivory9, Guy #84, Otaku, Yukari, shimmering starlight, brokenboxtoy, Gray-Mochi (who wasn't logged in :p), Gohanroxme, lurv4 (who also wasn't logged in), Fire Mocker, BonneyQ, lovelyanimelover, iceninjawarrior, Tsukushi, CaribbeanPrincess, Kauia and WaterPanda for getting the letter. For the others who logged in as guests, without some sort of penname, I can't log your points. So in the review, just put in a name.  
**

**Also, check out Tsukushi Tomoi's homepage for a look at her artwork. She drew B is for Break. It's awesome. (Once again, though, I am mistaken for a woman XD) And if you wish to draw the arts based on my work, let me know. I'd love to see it.  
**

**And now our feature presentation.**

* * *

**F is for Family**

_Family is the most important thing in the world._

27 year old Gray Fullbuster had gotten off the train and left Magnolia Station. He had just finished a mission defeating the Dist Bandits. They were scrubs so it was an easy 170,000 jewels. But he was tired. He was dirty. He was hungry. It is time for Gray Fullbuster to go home.

The walk to his house was a quiet one. No Natsu arguing with him. No Erza threatening them to get along. No Lucy telling them that they are still immature. No Happy snickering at this. Gray was all alone on this mission. But that was fine. He handled those bandits handily by himself.

Gray was contemplating life on his walk home. A lot has changed in the past nine years since the events of Tenrou Island.

Natsu and Lucy have been married for three years and had a son, Igneous Jude Dragneel, named loosely after both of their fathers. The boy was the spitting image of his father, spiky pink hair and a toothy grin. And he had Natsu's personality to match. Looking at Iggy was like looking in the past. He was just like his father. His mother could only sigh. Just like his father, Iggy could be rather mischievous, causing her endless grief. But Lucy wouldn't have it any other way.

Erza was secretly meeting the father of her son, Simon Rob Scarlet, given those names after the two men who gave their lives to save her. It was dangerous to give Simon his father's, Jellal, last name. He is still a wanted criminal. Luckily, he was born with his mother's hair so the authorities never suspected that Simon was the product of their love. The Knight told her child that daddy is playing hide and seek against the police and to help daddy win, he couldn't tell anybody about daddy's hiding spot. Simon, who didn't understand the complexities of their parents' relationship, was delighted in helping his daddy win the game.

Gajeel and Levy have been married for five years. They had twins, their four year old son and daughter Mamoru and Reimi Redfox. When Gajeel held his twins in his arms after Levy gave birth, he was so overwhelmed with happiness. He made a vow to protect these beautiful souls with all of his strength. That's how Levy gave them their names: Mamoru, to protect and Reimi, beautiful soul. Mamo had his mother's blue hair and his father's red eyes and Rei had her mother's hazel eyes and her father's black hair. Luckily for everyone in the guild, they had their mother's quiet bookish personality but on some instances, they could act like their father.

Elfman and Evergreen eventually did get married and had a daughter, one and a half year old Yosei Strauss. To the delight and relief of their auntie Mirajane, their daughter was now how the takeover mage had once imagined she would be. Yosei had his father's white hair. Luckily, she didn't have her mother's eye condition. Yosei had just learned first word. MANLY. When she said it in the guild, everyone laughed. They knew that it was Elfman's child. Evergreen has yet to forgive her husband for that.

Gray had learned that his fellow pupil and rival, Lyon, had just been given a son, whom he named Kori. There has been many speculations as to who was the mother. Gray had a sneaking suspicion that it was Urtear. The two had been awfully close as of late.

* * *

And as for Gray himself...

Well, before he could contemplate any further, Gray was in front of the Fullbuster residence. Instead of taking out his keys and opening the door, the black haired man rang the doorbell. It opened and the person that he expected was standing in the doorway.

"Daddy!" A voice shouted. That voice belonged to a black haired girl with a familiar curled hairstyle, just like her mother had so long ago.

Gray kneeled down and grabbed this girl into a hug. "Aww, my little Rainbow." He laughed as he lifted her into his arms and walked inside, shutting the door with his foot.

"Welcome back, daddy." She giggled in his chest.

"Good to be back." He sighed. "Where's mommy?"

Waiting for them was his beautiful wife of four years, Juvia Fullbuster. Gray gave her a smile which she returned back.

"Mommy, mommy." The girl shouted. "Daddy's home."

"He certainly is, Rainbow." Juvia smiled.

Gray walked over to his wife and kissed her deeply while still holding his daughter in his arms.

"Eww. Mommy and daddy are kissing." She giggled.

Gray and Juvia smiled at the product of their love.

Meet the youngest member of the Fullbuster family, four year old Uriel Niji Fullbuster. She also answers to the name Ur-chan and Rainbow.

When Gray and Juvia talked about starting a family two years into their relationship, they had both wished for a girl first. Their prayers were answered. Gray nearly missed the birth of his daughter due to complications from a mission he undertook. But thankfully, he made it back in time.

Gray, whenever the subject of children came up, told Juvia that he wanted to name his child after his teacher. Juvia agreed to this. Ur was the biggest influence in his life. To honor her memory, Gray wanted his child to carry her legacy just as he had by living after Deliora's attack.

When Gray and Juvia held their child in their arms for the first time, it was like a light shone upon the little one and transformed into many colors. That's the origin of both the child's first and middle name.

"Dinner is almost ready, Gray." Juvia smiled. "Why don't you give Ur-chan a bath? Then take one yourself."

"Alright." Gray smiled back. "Come on, Rainbow. Let's get you cleaned up for dinner."

"Meh, I don't want a bath." Ur sulked.

Gray gave his daughter a stern look. "Mommy said you need a bath. So it's time to take a bath."

"But daddy..." She whined.

"No buts." Gray told the little child. "You know how mommy gets when she is angry. So be a good girl."

"Okay."

* * *

Uriel splashed around in the bath. Gray had to laugh. She was quite the tomboy. The little girl eschewed all girly things except for her mother's Teru-Teru bozu doll. She took after her father: independent, but stubborn.

"Daddy. Look at this."

Uriel pointed to the water. She swirled her finger in it. After a moment, she pulled her finger out of the water and some of it followed her finger.

Gray was amazed. She's manipulating the water. Uriel is manifesting her magic. The ice mage was so impressed by his daughter that he didn't see it coming.

Uriel splashed the water in Gray's face.

"Haha. Gotcha daddy." The young girl laughed.

"Is that so?" Gray challenged.

He put his finger into the water and made it ice cold. Uriel shrieked in shock.

"See. You aren't ready to challenge daddy yet." Gray flicked his daughter's nose, causing her to giggle. "Now let's get you washed. Daddy needs to take a bath."

* * *

It is dinner time at the Fullbuster house. Both Gray and Uriel were washed up and sitting at the dinner table. Juvia, being the wonderful cook that she is, had made a feast to celebrate the return of her husband.

"Juvia, you didn't have to make all this food." Gray spoke while shoveling food in his mouth.

"Yeah mommy." Ur chirped while doing the same. "We aren't going to eat this all."

"Ur-chan," Juvia grimaced. "Manners. Smaller bites. Ur-chan isn't at the guild and mommy doesn't appreciate Ur-chan shoveling food in her mouth."

Uriel's face fell. "Sorry mommy."

"And Gray." She glowered at her husband. Gray made the uh-oh face. "Gray needs to set the example."

"Sorry, honey." Gray apologized.

Juvia smiled. "Okay. Now let's eat like civilized people."

The rest of the meal was eaten in a polite fashion.

"So daddy..." Uriel asked her father. "What happened on your mission?"

Gray chuckled. "So there I was." He set the scene. "I pretended to be a common traveler, waiting for the bandits to show themselves."

"And then what?" Uriel asked, entranced.

"Well, they tried to ambush me but I was ready for them." Gray told her. "I used my Ice Make Hammer to beat one down."

"Awesome. Daddy is so cool." Uriel cheered.

"So now that they knew I was a mage, they all rushed me at once." Gray whispered in a hushed voice.

"So what did you do, daddy?" His daughter asked, hanging on Gray's every word.

"I jumped out of the way and put them all in an Ice Make cage." He told her. "And I knocked all of them out. Then I tied them up and sent them to the army."

"Daddy's the best." Uriel smiled.

Juvia just smiled. Many years ago, had any girl said that about Gray, she would have attacked that woman to show that he belonged to Juvia and only Juvia. Now, she doesn't mind sharing her husband... with Uriel at least.

"Mommy, can you go on a mission next?" Ur asked her mother.

"Does Ur-chan want to get rid of mommy?" Juvia teased lightly.

Uriel looked horrified. "No! No! That's not what I meant."

"Sure it is, Rainbow." Gray teased back. "Uriel wants to spend quality time with daddy without mean ol' mommy."

Juvia faked a sniffle. "Well if that's how Ur-chan sees it, then mommy will go on a long mission."

Uriel ran to her mother's chair and nestled her head in Juvia's lap. "No. I just want to hear mommy's story next. Mommy's story are great too."

Juvia sighed melodramatically. "But Ur-chan was just saying that daddy is the best."

"No. Mommy's the best too. Mommy and daddy are the best." She squeaked in her adorable voice.

Juvia laughed and stroke her daughter's hair. "Mommy knows, Rainbow. Mommy knows."

Gray watched the scene with a smile on his face. As a young boy in Fairy Tail, he always wanted to be a mage. He wanted to travel the world, see strange things, fight strong enemies and be the best mage in the world. But now, his greatest joy was that at the end of the day, Gray Fullbuster came back home to Juvia and Uriel. I guess it's true what they say. Family changes everything. It definitely changed him for the better.

Having a child reprioritizes your life. Gray is no exception. When he was younger, he was cocky and reckless. He took unnecessary risks and played around with his opponents. After he started dating Juvia, he started taking precautions. He took less risks and became more vigilant. The incident with Dynos and almost losing Juvia caused him to reevaluate many things. He trusted his instincts more and if he felt like a mission was harder than the request initially suggested, Gray would either turn it down or, if that option wasn't available, the ice mage took backup. And now that he is a father, Gray stopped taking anything above a B mission by himself. The ice mage took special care on missions. He had a priority to return home to Juvia and Uriel.

And Juvia was the same. Since both of them were essentially orphans, they made sure that whenever they were on missions they would survive. Uriel was counting on them to return home to her. And they will not die to protect their rainbow's life. They will live to protect her.

* * *

It was now time for Uriel to go to bed. Gray and Juvia took the little girl to her room. The young Fullbuster lied down while her loving parents sat by either side of them. Surrounded by her father and mother, Uriel felt safe and loved.

"Mommy, daddy?" Uriel asked, an adorable yawn coming from her mouth. "When I grow up, will I be as strong as mommy and daddy?"

Gray chuckled. "Nope. You aren't going to be as strong as mommy and daddy."

Uriel's eyes widened. "I'm not."

Juvia smiled and stroked her hair. "Nope. Ur-chan is going to be even stronger."

Her blue eyes brightened. "Really?"

"Yep. And everyone is going to know the name Uriel Niji Fullbuster." Gray told her, using his hands to enunciate her name.

"But how do you know that?" The little girl asked.

Juvia snuggled closer to her daughter. "Because daddy is strong and mommy is strong. So Ur-chan is going to be strong because she has mommy and daddy's love."

Uriel smiled.

"Now it's time for little girls to go to sleep." Gray told her.

"Aww." Uriel frowned.

"The quicker Ur-chan goes to bed, the quicker she can get up in the morning and go to the guild." Juvia whispered to her daughter.

"Then I can play with Iggy and Mamo and Rei-chan and Simon-kun." Uriel said in childlike glee. "And then I can talk with Uncle Natsu and Uncle Gajeel and Auntie Lucy and Auntie Levy about their missions."

Gray grimaced. "I really wish you wouldn't call them Uncle Natsu and Uncle Gajeel, Rainbow." He mumbled.

Uriel cocked her head in confusion. "But mommy said that daddy and Uncle Natsu and Uncle Gajeel are like brothers."

"Juvia!" Gray shouted indignantly.

Juvia just smiled in response. "Juvia is just telling the truth, Gray."

"Yeah. Mommy says that daddy pretends to fight with them but whenever Auntie Erza is around, you start hugging Uncle Natsu and Uncle Gajeel." The little girl continued.

Gray had no comeback for that. So he settled with a mock annoyed sound.

Juvia chuckled. "Alright. Time to sleep."

The two parents got out of the bed. They each gave their daughter a kiss goodnight.

"Good night, Rainbow." Gray smiled.

"Mommy and daddy love you." Juvia responded.

Uriel snuggled into the pillow and was asleep immediately.

Gray hugged Juvia from behind as they watched their daughter sleep. It's quite the awe-inspiring experience to know that the proof of their love sleeping before them.

Gray kissed the skin between Juvia's neck and shoulder. "Come on." He whispered into her ear and they left their daughter's room

* * *

Juvia led her husband into their bedroom. Once they closed the door behind them, their lips met in heated passion. Lips and tongues clashed against each other as they remapped the other's mouth.

"It's only been four days, Gray." Juvia moaned quietly as Gray worked his magic, sucking on the pulse in her neck.

"Four days too many, Juvia." Gray mumbled against her skin.

Gray picked up his wife and laid her on the bed. She was a sight. Her hair was splayed on the bed in all directions. Her lips were somewhat swollen from their kissing. Her breaths was coming in pants. She was still as sexy as the first day they started dating... perhaps even sexier due to the fact that she was his wife and the mother of his child.

The ice mage crawled on top of Juvia. "You know that your daughter wet me while I was giving her a bath." He chuckled on top of her.

"So she tried that trick on you too, Gray?" Juvia laughed. "Juvia has been teaching her the basics of magic. She's learned how to manipulate water."

Gray had to laugh. "Must be my fate to be in love with water mages." Gray said as he nuzzled in between Juvia's clothed breasts.

Juvia's breath hitched as he did that. Nine years. Nine years they've been together and Gray still had that effect on her.

"Gray-sama." Juvia whimpered.

"Gray-sama, eh?" Gray smirked down at his wife. "You haven't called me that in the longest."

Juvia blushed but said nothing.

Gray's face became serious. He stopped being on top of her and instead cuddled up against his wife. "Juvia, have you ever thought about having another child?" He asked.

Juvia's eyes widened. "Does Gray want another child?"

"I've thought about it." Gray answered her honestly.

"Well, Juvia has thought about it too." She replied. "Juvia has a lot of love to give."

"I do too." Gray smiled. "I want a big family... if that's okay with you."

Juvia smiled. "Juvia would like that, Gray."

Gray got back on top of Juvia. "Then how about we work on that tonight?" He smirked.

Juvia didn't say anything. Instead, she pulled Gray down for a passionate kiss.

Gray thoroughly made love to Juvia that night, reacquainting himself with her body. As they cuddled, basking in the afterglow, Gray smiled to himself and started thinking.

Life is a funny thing sometimes. Gray never thought that his life would have turned out like this. But life throws you a curveball and turns your world upside down. In another time, another place, Gray and Juvia probably wouldn't have met, wouldn't have fallen in love with each other, wouldn't have gotten married and wouldn't have a beautiful child together. But in this lifetime, they did.

Family is the most important thing to Gray. Having lost his twice, he refused to let it happen again. Fairy Tail became his family. Truly, it was a dysfunctional family but one he would protect with everything he had. And when Juvia entered his life, she became family. Now she is his wife and they have a child. They are everything to Gray, the purpose for his existence.

Juvia caressed his abs with a gentle touch. "What is Gray thinking about?" She whispered.

"Just how much I love my life." He answered her. "How much I love you and Uriel."

"Juvia feels the same." She smiled.

Gray kissed his wife on the forehead. "I love you, Juvia."

"Juvia loves Gray as well." She answered

With that, they closed their eyes and fell into the embrace of sleep.

Life is good.

* * *

_Word Count: 2968_

**There. Some much needed fluff.**

**The name Uriel is Hebrew. It means Light of God. It's the name that I had always planned to give Gray and Juvia's kid. Plus it contains Ur's name. Sure Uriel is usually a boy's name but I felt as she would be the light of her parent's lives. I'll explain more fully in another chapter. And, Niji is Japanese for Rainbow. Kori, Lyon's child, is Japanese for ice. And I decided to make Lyon and Urtear's thing that I mentioned in chapter 3 a romantic or at least a sexual thing. Yosei means fairy in Japanese. The others, I'll explain in another chapter as well.**

**I really have nothing else to say after that.**

**So love it? Hate it? Have no opinion whatsoever? Leave me a review. I'd love to hear from you.**

**Here's the prompt for the next chapter.**

_As Juvia stood in front of the memorial for Ur, she truly felt thankful to her. It is because of Ur's teachings that Gray is the man he is today. Her only regret is that she never met the woman to thank her._

**Can you guess the G word?**

**Well, till next time.**

**A. Angel**


	7. G is for Gratitude

**Seven chapters? Really? I can't believe I have the drive to continue but it's because of your reviews that I can do this.  
**

**I am so glad with the feedback with the last chapter. Everyone loved Uriel. I'm glad. And I promise that there will be another chapter with her but not until the second half of the A-Z fic.  
**

**To MissMonsterite and everyone else, these fics are interconnected but not chronological. I'll be going to and fro in Gray and Juvia's relationship. So in some chapters I'll refer to previous chapters and sometimes I'll make references that I'll address in later chapters. And to demonstrate that, this goes back several years from the last one. Beyond this, I really have nothing else to say. So thank you for the reviews. I never thought I would get so much feedback with this fic. But it's thanks to your support that I do this.  
**

**So here is chapter seven. I hope you enjoy it. This chapter is dedicated to BonneyQ with whom I am currently sharing a mindlink because we keep taking each others' ideas. :-P  
**

**Finally, two points to Shimmering Starlight, MissMonsterite, Yukari, Little Otaku, superduperizee, Catwho, WaterPanda, Kauia, Tsukushi, LovelyAnimeLover, lurv4, ivory9, Puckabrina, and BonneyQ. (I accepted Grateful as well).  
**

**And now for our feature presentation.**

* * *

**G is for Gratitude**

_Be grateful for your teacher. After family, they are the most influential person in your life._

It has been fifteen months. Actually it has been 15 months, 24 days, 9 hours, 45 minutes and 33 seconds

34

35

36

And to Juvia, who has marked each moment of hers and Gray's relationship, it has been the best 15 months, 24 days, 9 hours, 45 minutes and now 51, 52, 53, 54 seconds of her life.

Juvia had never lost faith that one day, her beloved Gray would return her feelings. And her faith had been rewarded. Being Gray's girlfriend was everything that she always thought it would be. Actually, it was better because no dream she had, no fantasy she could have imagined, would equal the reality before her.

Gray truly cared for her, truly loved her. The ice Mage always made sure to take care of whatever needs she may have. He looked out for Juvia on missions without doubting her strength. The exhibitionist also took time to spend with Juvia outside of missions as well, whether it be to go to a restaurant, a walk in the park or just hanging out at one of their apartments.

Juvia would do anything for this man... anything except die for him. She got set straight by Gray eight months ago when he told the water Mage not to sacrifice herself for his sake.

It's not to say that their relationship was perfect. No relationship is. Juvia would still get jealous of any woman who looked at Gray longer than they should. She was getting better about that though. The blue haired woman no longer accused any woman from Fairy Tail of trying to steal her beloved Gray-sama away from her. (What also helped was that many of the women that she once considered rivals for his affection were in happy relationships themselves: Lucy with Natsu, Levy with Gajeel etc.) Gray had problems expressing his feelings. She knew some of his past but there were spots in it that would cause him to withdraw into himself.

But, other than that, they had a happy and open relationship.

So it was a surprise to Juvia when she went over to his apartment. The water Mage found Gray packing for a long trip. Normally, her boyfriend would tell her about any mission that he would undertake, either with his team or by himself. But this came without preamble. So Juvia took it upon herself to find out what was going on.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia called out to Gray.

Gray didn't answer Juvia. He looked completely out of it. The ice mage was almost mechanical in his movements.

"Gray!" She shouted.

That got Gray's attention. In all the time that he had known her, Juvia had never called him by his given name without the suffix sama.

"Juvia" He answered her. "When did you get here?"

"A minute ago." She responded. "Juvia was calling out to Gray-sama but he was out of it."

Gray sheepishly looked away. "Sorry. Just have a lot on mind."

"Does Gray-sama want to talk about it?" She asked as she hugged him from behind.

Normally, Gray would sink into Juvia's touch, lean in and then kiss her. However, today he acted stiff. This caused the water Mage to worry.

"Is Gray-sama alright?" She asked, concerned.

"I'll be fine." Gray answered quickly.

Juvia knew that Gray was trying to avoid the conversation but she wouldn't let him this time.

"Gray-sama is not fine." Juvia told him

"I am too." He countered childishly.

Juvia could always tell when Gray didn't want to talk about something whenever he spoke in a childish tone. However, this time, she would get him to talk.

She let go of Gray and turned him around to face her. "Please tell Juvia." She asked in a pleading tone. "What is bothering Gray-sama?"

"Nothing is bothering me, Juvia." He answered all too quickly. "I am fine. "

"Please let Juvia in." She beseeched.

"I don't know what you are talking about." He lied. Gray knew exactly what Juvia was talking about.

"Do you not trust Juvia?" She wondered, afraid of the answer.

"I do." Gray told her adamantly. How could Juvia think that he didn't trust her? After all they've been through before and during their relationship, how could she think that?

"Then why is Gray-sama avoiding the conversation?" The water mage asked her boyfriend. Why won't Gray let her in?

"I'm not." He said weakly. Gray didn't even convince himself of that.

"Is it a dangerous mission?" Juvia asked.

"No." Gray answered.

Is it another woman? Juvia worried.

"No." Gray was a little miffed. He knew that Juvia could get jealous but to accuse him of cheating was a little much.

"Then what Gray?" Juvia didn't realize that she had dropped the sama again. The blue-haired woman realized that she was being more confrontational than she normally would be but she needed to know why he was being like this.

"It's nothing." Gray was about to break.

"It's not nothing." Juvia begged. It hurt her that she had to resort to begging and pleading to get Gray to open up. "Please stop pretending it isn't."

"It's Ur dammit." Gray snapped at her as Juvia's eyes widened. "It's Ur." He whispered.

Gray felt his legs collapse on him.

How long has it been since Gray said her name? Tenrou Island. Has it really been that long.

Juvia felt like she was hit with a punch to the gut. Tears started to form in her eyes. Of course it was Ur. Juvia felt like she should have known. Only Ur could cause Gray not to act like his normal, cool self.

Gray noticed that she was about to cry and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry Juvia." He apologized. "I didn't mean to snap at you. "

Juvia leaned into her boyfriend's touch. "Juvia forgives Gray-sama." She told him

Ur was a touchy subject to Gray. Whenever he mentioned his teacher, Gray would get this faraway look. Whether it be happy memories or otherwise, Gray would act the same. And as much as Juvia wanted to know about the woman who taught him, she never pushed him to know about his teacher. The water Mage went on whatever information the ice make Mage gave him. It wasn't a lot but it was enough to know that Ur had a significant influence on his life

"Juvia." Gray began. "I'm gonna be gone for a week."

"Is Gray-sama going to be by himself?" She asked. Juvia was worried about Gray. Not that he couldn't take care of himself. She just needed some information so she could feel better.

"No." He answered. "Lyon is going to be there as well."

Of course he would. Lyon was taught by the same woman after all.

"Okay, Gray-sama." Juvia sighed. "Please be safe. Juvia can't stand it when she doesn't know whether or not Gray-sama is safe."

Gray let out a deep breath and the wheels in his head started turning. There was something he wanted to ask Juvia. Resolutely, he took Juvia's hand.

"You want to come with me, don't you Juvia?" It sounded more like a statement than a question. A question he already knew the answer to.

"If Gray-sama doesn't have a problem with it." Juvia mumbled.

A ghost of a smile crossed Gray's face. "Then pack a week's worth of clothes, warm clothes. We leave tomorrow." He said simply.

"Is Gray-sama sure?" She asked, not trusting her voice.

"Yeah. I think it's time you meet her." Gray told his girlfriend. He let go of a huge sigh.

Juvia was confused by that statement but didn't question it. It was happening. Gray was finally letting her in.

"Okay, Gray-sama." The blue haired woman nodded. "Juvia will pack and meet him at Magnolia station tomorrow."

Before she got the chance to leave, Gray grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him. With everything he had, the ice Mage kissed Juvia passionately. She literally melted into the kiss, which was ironic considering the kind of magic her boyfriend employed.

"You know I love you, Juvia." Gray whispered into her ear after he finished.

"Juvia knows." She responded. "Juvia loves Gray-sama. She knows that Gray-sama has a hard time talking about his teacher. Juvia will wait until he is ready."

Gray smiled for the first time today. "Then I'll see you tomorrow bright and early."

Juvia returned the smile. "Tomorrow, Gray-sama."

* * *

The train ride was a quiet one. Gray was looking out of the window, deep in thought. Juvia was looking at Gray, truly concerned for his well being. The trip itself took about two and a half days. But Gray had finally returned. He was back in the place he grew up.

On the third day, they finally reached their destination. The snowy hills of Burago were an amazement to Juvia. Besides Gray's magic, she had rarely seen snow and certainly not so much in one place. It felt like something out of a painting. However she didn't take much time to admire it, not with Gray still out of it.

"Come on, Juvia." Gray called out to her.

"Of course Gray-sama." Juvia responded as she followed him.

The place where Gray took Juvia was quite horrifying. It was a destroyed town. There was nary a building that stood above one storey high. Juvia looked around and saw giant craters in the ground signifying that a great battle took place here. The water Mage took a whiff of the air and smelled saltwater. Sure enough she saw the sea lapping away at the ruins of the town. Oddly, the sea looked like it didn't belong here.

"Gray-sama." Juvia sighed despondently.

"This is where it took place." Gray answered her unasked question. "This is where Ur fought Deliora where she gave her life to seal my darkness."

Juvia said nothing. Really, what was there to say.

"Gray." A voice called out to him.

Juvia turned around to see who called to Gray. However he didn't turn to face that person.

"Lyon." Gray replied. "You're here."

"Yeah." Lyon answered laconically.

There was an awkward silence between the three people.

"Let's go to Ur." Gray spoke up after a while.

"Yeah." Lyon agreed.

Once again, Juvia was confused at what Gray and Lyon meant by going to Ur. But she didn't say anything. It was probably not her place to say.

* * *

The three walked a short distance away towards the sea. There, Juvia saw a hill and something protruding from it. The water from the sea lapped at the protrusion. Again, she didn't say anything. Either Gray or Lyon would explain when the time was right.

The protrusion started to take shape and form. Juvia could make out an egg shape rock or something sticking out of the ground. As the threesome neared it, the water mage could see that the egg shaped thing was made of...

"Ice?" Juvia questioned.

"Yeah." Gray answered.

On closer inspection, Juvia realized that it was a makeshift memorial stone made completely out of ice. On top of the memorial was one word... Ur. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the two ice mage stop reverently in front of the memorial.

"Gray-sama." Juvia breathed, unable to trust the sound of her own voice.

"This is the place where Ur used Iced Shell so many years ago." Gray explained. "Me and Lyon made this after the Oracion Seis incident."

"Gray." She sighed sadly.

There was another silence. Standing her in front of Ur's memorial with Juvia made them feel like they had to tell her what happened to their teacher. At first, the ice mages were hesitant. However, it was like a small crack in a dam. Eventually the stress caused the crack to become bigger and bigger until eventually, the dam exploded.

"After Ur used Iced Shell to trap Deliora, we went our separate ways." Lyon told Juvia. "I was mad at Ur for turning into ice. She was the person I wanted to surpass. And I couldn't because she disappeared. I looked for a way to bring her back. But I realized that I couldn't. Once a person loses their body to Iced Shell, they cannot be restored. So I came up with a plan to restore Deliora."

"But didn't Lyon-san know that Ur-san was the ice that kept Deliora frozen?" Juvia asked.

"At first, I didn't know." Lyon admitted. "But after I researched how to undo the Iced Shell, I learned about Ur's fate."

"So then why did Lyon-san still want to unfreeze Deliora?" Juvia questioned, unable to stop herself from asking.

"Because my desire to surpass Ur was more important to me than her desire for me to go into the future." Lyon explained. "I thought that if I could defeat Deliora, the monster that Ur could not, then I could finally surpass her. I was a stupid kid."

Juvia said nothing more.

"I wandered the world." Gray told Juvia his story. "I went south, looking for a place to call home. I found Fairy Tail."

Juvia gave Gray a small smile.

"I grew up in the guild, but I never forgot what happened here." Gray continued. "And then me, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy went to Galuna Island. We learned that Lyon was using the magic of the island to revive Deliora. I was able to defeat him but the ice around Deliora melted during our fight."

"That's horrible." Juvia gasped as she put her hands over her mouth. "Deliora was revived?"

Both men wore a matching small smile.

"Not exactly." Gray told Juvia. "You see, in the ten long years that Deliora was trapped in the ice, Ur was working to sap its strength, its life force, everything. And so, when the Iced Shell melted, Deliora disintegrated along with it."

As Juvia listened to the story, she saw Gray's face. There were tears in his eyes that streamed down his face. She couldn't help but tear up as well.

"Deliora killed my parents." Gray told Juvia. "He destroyed the village where I was born. I hated that demon. I desired power to kill him. So I went to Ur. She taught me everything about magic and life."

Lyon looked away as Gray told Juvia his story.

The black haired man sighed. "When I was a brat, I always thought that Ur was holding me back." Gray continued. "I never understood creation magic when I was a kid. And so, with my limited skills, I went to challenge Deliora and I was easily defeated."

Gray took a deep breath.

"Bur Ur saved me. She said that she would seal my darkness in order to reclaim my happiness. She became ice and destroyed Deliora." Gray's tears came harder and he put his hand in front of his face to prevent both Juvia and Lyon from seeing it. "I am so thankful for Ur. She kept her promise. At that moment, I wanted to be someone who keeps the promises I make, just like Ur."

Juvia smiled despite her tears. "Juvia is thankful for Ur-san too."

Gray's tears stopped as he regarded Juvia. "How?"

"I don't understand." Lyon said.

"Juvia sees Ur-san's legacy." The water mage told them. "Ur-san raised two great ice make mages who are kind, loyal, determined to accomplish anything they put their minds to."

Despite the place and situation, both ice mages blushed.

"And Juvia is grateful for Ur for raising Gray-sama." Juvia continued. "It's because of her that Gray-sama was able to save Juvia from her depression. Gray-sama showed Juvia the power of nakama when he battled her, the power that gives Fairy Tail mages their strength."

"Juvia." Gray breathed, his heart lightening a bit.

"Gray-sama gave Juvia freedom from the rain." The water mage persisted. "Then Gray-sama gave Juvia his love. Juvia is so happy. Gray-sama is happy too. And it's all thanks to Ur-san." Then Juvia looked away. "Juvia only wishes that she could have met Ur-san so she could personally thank her."

Both Gray and Lyon gave Juvia a sad smile.

"Yeah. I wish you could have met Ur too." Gray chuckled somberly. "You would have liked her."

"And she would liked you, Juvia-chan." Lyon added. "And she would have hit Gray for taking so long to confess to you." The white haired man smirked as Gray glowered at him. "Then Ur would tell you all of Gray's embarrassing moments when he was a snot-nosed brat."

Juvia stifled a giggle. "Gray-sama's embarrassing moments?" She chortled.

Gray growled. "As if you were perfect. I know all of your embarrassing moments too."

"I'd like to hear those." A small voice called out to the two bickering ice mages.

The three mages turned around to see Urtear and Meredy walking towards the memorial.

"Urtear!" The two ice mages gasped in unison.

"Meredy-chan." Juvia greeted. It was much more demure than it normally would due to the place where they were.

"I haven't seen you here before." Gray said to Urtear.

"I've been coming here after our fight, Gray." Urtear answered. "For the last seven years." She whispered the last part.

Gray and Juvia sighed and looked away. Once again, they were reminded of the events of Tenrou Island. It has been hard to lose those years. Though their time had stopped, the world passed them by those last seven years.

"Yeah." Gray closed his eyes. "It has been that long since I've been here. Sorry, Ur." He said. "You understand, right?"

Gray touched the memorial when he said that. No one said a word. They understood that it has been hard for Gray to come back since he had lost those years.

"Gray, Lyon." Urtear whispered. "Can I hear some stories about my mother?"

The two ice mages smiled.

"I remember when I first started training with Ur." Gray started. "We went out in the snow and she started stripping. I thought she was a pervert."

Urtear, Meredy and Juvia giggled.

"When we were kids, we would always get frostbite and colds every day." Lyon added. "I can't remember how many times we would come back to her house and soak for hours in the hot tub."

The women laughed.

"Ur used to hit Lyon every time he would do a one handed ice make." Gray snidely remarked. "He would always forget that one handed ice makes are unbalanced."

"Oh yeah, well Ur would hit Gray every time he would strip in public." Lyon countered coolly. "You couldn't count how many times we'd be walking and he'd be down to his underwear."

The women watched in amusement as Gray and Lyon each rattled off the other's embarrassing moments. Even in this, Juvia, Urtear and Meredy could see that the two ice mages truly respected, even loved Ur as their teacher and maternal figure.

Gray and Lyon sighed. There was a more comfortable silence near the memorial.

"I miss her." Lyon closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

"Me too." Gray nodded.

Juvia watched the two ice mages remember the good times with their teacher. She learned more about Ur today that she ever had in the time she had been in Fairy Tail with Gray. In that moment, Juvia was grateful that Gray invited her to come with him.

"Gray-sama, Lyon-san." Juvia whispered.

The two ice mages turned around to give Juvia their attention.

"What is it, Juvia?" Gray asked his girlfriend.

"There is a hymn that we sang for the departed where Juvia lived." Juvia spoke. "If you two have no objection, Juvia would like to sing it."

"I would love it hear it." Lyon said somberly.

"Me too." Gray chimed.

Juvia went to the memorial and touched it. The water lapped at her feet, making her feel at home. She took a deep breath.

_As I gaze out into the sea  
I'll watch over you on your journey.  
So with the last of my whole strength and being, the spirits within me will take flight.  
So do not cry, oh my dear friends. I'll see you off and you'll be alright._

Gray was in awe of Juvia's singing voice. She wasn't better than Mirajane's beautiful cooing but neither was she horrifying as Gajeel's rough warble. It was the perfect blend of her soft spoken nature and a sort of reverence for this whole situation. He was in awe of Juvia. The black haired man fell even deeper in love with his girlfriend.

Urtear walked towards Juvia and put her hand on Juvia's shoulder.

"That was beautiful." Urtear smiled. "Thank you."

As the water lapped Urtear's feet, something unexpected happen.

Magic is a wonderful thing at times. Juvia's water magic and Urtear's Arc of Time unconsciously leaked with the sea. The water glowed with an unearthly light. Rather than it being frightening, it was beautiful.

"What is this?" Meredy asked.

Gray and Lyon had no answer.

The water around the glow bubbled and frothed. Then a geyser gushed upwards. The group could hear a ringing sound from the geyser. The ringing started getting clearer until it became words.

**My dear children, I am so proud of you. My wish is for you is live into the future.**

Everyone was in shock.

"Ur." Gray and Lyon gasped.

"Mother." Urtear covered her mouth in surprise. "It was her voice."

The words sank into Gray, Lyon and Urtear's minds. They bowed their heads as a homage to the woman who shaped their lives.

"Thank you, Ur." Gray said respectfully.

"I am so glad to have been your student." Lyon reverently spoke.

"I wish we could have had more time together." Urtear sighed.

The geyser dissipated and the glow disappeared.

Gray smiled, truly smiled. For the first time in a long time, he didn't feel the pain that usually occurred when he thought of Ur. He knew why. It was closure. Hearing those words, Ur's words, gave him the closure Gray desperately desired.

After a comfortable silence, it was time to go.

"Come on." Lyon spoke up. "Let's go to Villers. The memorial starts tomorrow."

Urtear and Meredy nodded and walked away with Lyon towards the town.

Juvia was about to follow them but Gray grabbed her hand. She turned around.

"Gray-sama." Juvia whispered.

Gray said nothing. Instead he pulled Juvia in for a tight embrace. Juvia returned the hug. The water mage could feel the intake and exhale of breath as he held her like a lifeline.

"Thank you for coming, Juvia." Gray whispered in her ear. "I am so glad you came with me."

"Juvia is thankful that Gray-sama brought her to visit Ur-san." Juvia answered back.

Gray kissed Juvia's forehead. Juvia smiled.

"Does Gray-sama truly believe that Ur-san would have liked Juvia?" She asked.

"Of course she would." Gray smiled at his girlfriend. "Who wouldn't? Although, she would probably say I wasn't worthy enough of you calling me -sama and she would hit me for taking so long to tell you how I felt."

Juvia looked away. "Does Gray-sama mind if Juvia calls him Gray-sama?"

"I don't mind one way or the other." Gray said nonchalantly.

"Then can Juvia call him Gray?" Juvia asked shyly.

"If you want." Gray told her.

Juvia sighed. "Okay, Gray."

It was strange. Hearing his name from Juvia without the -sama was weird, in a good way. He could get used to this.

"Come on, Juvia." Gray motioned with his head. "Let's catch up with the others."

"What happens now?" Juvia asked.

"Tomorrow in Villers, there's going to be a memorial for the people who died in Burago during Deliora's attack." Gray answered.

"Okay, Gray." Juvia nodded.

Gray and Juvia walked away from the memorial, hand in hand.

Juvia was truly grateful to Ur for all of the guidance she gave her beloved Gray-sama, I mean Gray. Because of her, Gray is the man that he is today and the water mage is truly happy. Juvia noted, as her hand melded with his so perfectly, that this was the happiest 15 months, 27 days, 6 hours, 48 minutes and 9, 10, 11, 12 seconds of her life.

And from somewhere beyond the physical world, the spirit of a black haired woman was smiling down on them.

* * *

Word Count: 4047

**Another chapter done.**

**I had this idea to have Gray having Juvia visit Ur's grave and him telling her all about his teacher. It evolved when I added Lyon and Urtear into the mix and became what you just read. **

**When I came up with this, I actually had Juvia be infused with the spirit of Ur. She would then tell Gray, Lyon and Urtear how proud she was of all them. And that was the plan until I wrote the song for this chapter. I felt that it would have been a bit more convoluted than it should be. I have no problem having Ur's voice come out of the water but having her possess Juvia was probably a bit too far.**

**And for the song, it's called "Let's Talk." It comes from the Tales of Legendia. It is a beautiful song sung by the Suzukake's Children's Choir. I recommend you listen to it.**

**So, like it? Hate it? Have no opinion one way or the other? Send me a review. I'd love to hear it.**

**Here's the prompt for the next chapter.**

_As Gray returned from his mission, he saw Juvia cooking his favorite meal. At first, he was hesitant . Now, Gray was grateful that asked Juvia to move in with him._

**Any guesses? Leave them in the review.**

**Until next time,**

**A. Angel**


	8. H is for Home

**Huzzahs are in order here. The next chapter in here.  
**

**And thanks for the reviews. As always, they give me the drive I sorely need, especially that I've been lacking it as of late.  
**

**Speaking of...  
**

**I am glad that many of you loved the song. It's one of my favorite songs in the Tales series.  
**

**Dorac, many of us are with you in wanting Mashima to make Gruvia canon. He's been dancing around it as of late. Somewhat annoying  
**

**Gray-mochi, I don't think that Ur should come back. Gray has his closure already and her returning from the dead would probably be counter-intuitive to him. He lives for Fairy Tail now.**

**MissForgetfulMe, I'm soft? I don't have swag? Ouch. I'm wounded in this beating thing in my chest. Although it could be indigestion. I suppose I can let it slide as long as you don't call me Nicholas Sparks. I hate his writing.  
**

**Esthellar, that was a nice song too. I listened to it when I was writing some of this chapter.  
**

**niners, I think that Juvia, of all people, would be the kind of person to do this. Also, if anyone caught it, each month, day, minute and ending second is divisible by three. I love numbers divisible by three. It's a magic number.  
**

**Sinnclaire, I'm not particularly choosey when it comes to spelling sometimes. I've seen Ur and Ul as well as Urtear and Ultear. It's part of the way Japanese people pronounce these letters sometimes.  
**

**And I am glad I didn't do the possessing thing after all. It would have somewhat ruined the seriousness.  
**

**And thanks to all reviews again.  
**

**Now, without further to do, the points. 2 points to Izzyfrizzy, Catwho, Gray-mochi, Kurospirit, bluemages, dorac, Fujitezu, superduper, Esthellar, lovelyanimelover, JellalxErza, ivory9, lurv4, Ilikehugs, Fluer-de-Lys, Happy-nerd and Sinnclaire for getting the word.  
**

**Our feature presentation**

* * *

**H is for Home**

_A house is a building. A home is a feeling._

Gray Fullbuster was sitting at the Fairy Tail bar, sulking. That's right boys and girls. Gray Fullbuster does indeed sulk. And he was drinking. Drinking and sulking, a winning combination.

Next to him were two men who were certainly not helping his mood, Macao Conbolt and Wakaba Mine. They were laughing at him. Glowering at the old men did nothing in the slightest. Oh how he wanted them to shut up. Despite the fact that he was tempted, the ice mage decided not to kick their asses. Though it would give him the satisfaction he desired, the exhibitionist knew it would be short lived. Plus they were old and would provide no real challenge.

Manning the bar, Mirajane Strauss tried to alleviate his mood, giving him that bright smile she normally wears. But it did nothing.

If only Juvia were here, Gray thought.

But that thought led Gray right back to the reason he was sulking. It was because of Juvia that the ice mage was here.

* * *

Let's rewind the clock.

It was three days ago. Gray was hanging out with Juvia in her apartment in Fairy Hills. Normally, the matron doesn't allow boys to stay but the ice mage promised that he'd be on his best behavior and that there would be no "hanky-panky" as she called it during his visit.

Gray was reclining on Juvia's couch while said woman was reclining against him. (Of course he was shirtless). The two of them were enjoying each others' presence. No words were needed or wanted.

Gray always loved the feeling of Juvia's body against his, to feel her body heat against him (which is somewhat ironic considering he's an ice mage and all.) To feel her soft curves against his hard planes was utter bliss to the man.

It's been a little more than two and a half years since they started dating and still he was in love with Juvia. How amazing it was that the woman he once considered just a tad strange was now his girlfriend, confidante, and lover all in one. The days where he was with her seemed so much brighter. Yeah it was cheesy but it's true. Now, he couldn't imagine life without her.

And yet, something was on his mind. He let out a sigh.

Juvia picked up on his sigh. "Is something wrong, Gray?" Juvia asked.

Gray chuckled. "No."

"Does Gray want to do something?" Juvia queried.

"Nope. I wanna stay right here." Gray gave Juvia a mock pout.

Juvia turned to face her boyfriend, making sure that one of her delicate fingers circled the Fairy Tail stamp on his chest. Gray groaned but his hand found its way to Juvia's hip and managed to trace out her stamp as well. The water mage sighed happily. She moved in and proceed to make out with the man beneath her.

(It is a well known fact that one of the most erotic parts on a mage's body is their guild stamp. Just like how regular people find tattoos sexy, a mage finds the guild stamp sexy, especially if they are in the same guild. That is why many mages get their stamps in certain places like chests, bellies, hips or backs, places that could be considered erogenous. Though Gray didn't really think about this when he place his stamp on his right pectoral, Juvia did. In actuality, she wanted to put in on her right breast just like her hero, Gray. But when Makarov asked her where she wanted it, the water mage blanched. She wanted no one but Gray to see her naked breasts. Juvia ended up with the stamp on her hip. The blue haired woman, at one time, regretted not putting it where she actually wanted it. Thankfully, when she and Gray got together, he made sure to lave lots of attention on her hip.)

"Juvia." Gray moaned huskily. "If you keep this up, I am going to have my way with you."

Juvia did not let up though. "Juvia doesn't mind if Gray has his way with her." She whispered.

"Your matron will have my head." Gray told her.

"Juvia won't tell if Gray won't." She sighed into his ear, her half-lidded eyes staring seductively down at him.

Gray smirked. His fingers danced dangerously close to her breasts.

A loud knock resounded on Juvia's door.

"I said no hanky-panky, naked boy." The matron yelled through the door.

Gray growled, saying something that sounded like rock stopper. Juvia wasn't happy either. She loved being intimate with her boyfriend.

Juvia returned to laying against her boyfriend, snuggled against him.

Gray sighed again.

"What is wrong, Gray?" Juvia asked.

"Nothing much." Gray told her.

"Tell Juvia please, Gray." She pleaded. "Sometimes a problem can be resolved just by talking."

Gray shifted on Juvia's couch, signaling to his girlfriend that he would like to sit up. Juvia was a bit disgruntled but she did so.

Gray hunched over and folded his hands together. Juvia waited for him to say something.

"My landlord is moving away." Gray told Juvia. "I just learned this a couple of days ago."

Okay. Of all of the things he could have said, this was probably the last thing Juvia expected.

"Oh." She answered. Not her best response but come on. This came out of left field.

"That means I'll be out of my apartment soon." Gray continued. "I've got to find a new place to live in a month."

Now that Juvia acclimated herself to the situation, she could begin to help her boyfriend. "Have you been looking for a new apartment?" She asked,

Gray sighed and looked away. He had no idea how he was going to bring this up. But the ice mage figured that the best way to go about it is just to say it.

Well, here goes nothing.

"I haven't been looking at apartments." Gray admitted.

"What do you mean, Gray?" Juvia looked at her boyfriend in absolute shock. She looked like the world was coming down on her. "Where are you going to live?"

Gray took a deep breath, unfolded his hands and looked his Juvia deep into her beautiful cerulean eyes. "I've actually been looking at houses."

Juvia's jaw figuratively hit the floor. "A house, Gray?" She asked.

"Yeah, a house." Gray confirmed. "I found one that's good. About three million Jewels. Four beds, three and a half baths. nice backyard. All that."

Juvia looked at Gray curiously. He had given her no indication that he was looking at a house, much less found one he wanted."

"But a house is a big commitment." Juvia told him.

"I know. I'm just thinking about the future." Gray said whimsically.

"The future?" Juvia asked, doe-eyed.

Gray wanted to say something to the effect of preparing for the domestic life: marriage, kids, the whole nine yards. Not that Gray was ready to get married. No, not yet. Sure he loves Juvia very much and he imagines one day being married to her. But marriage is such a big step from where they are at right now. That's way too far into the future. Right now, in the present, it's comfortable. They are comfortable. However...

"I want to ask you something, Juvia." Gray told her. Gone was his normal confidence. In its place was... someone else.

Juvia couldn't remember the last time Gray acted so shyly if he did at all. Whatever it was he wanted to ask her must be very important.

"What is it, Gray?" Juvia asked. "You know that Juvia won't judge you."

"I want to ask you" Gray began "and it's okay to say no. But I want to ask you how you would feel about moving in with me."

Juvia's eyes got so wide, she felt like they were going to pop out of their sockets. Did she just hear right? Did Gray actually want Juvia to move in with him in a house? Not an apartment, not a duplex, not a studio. But a house?

"Gray..." Her whisper trailed off.

Juvia wanted to say something. She really did. But the thought of her and Gray living together... So many fantasies, especially of her being the dutiful housewife. She was so flabbergasted and caught up in her thoughts that she didn't realize that Gray was getting the wrong idea.

Gray took that as a bad sign. "Forget I said anything." He quickly got up.

The ice mage stood up and started for the door. Stupid, stupid. It was too big of a step. How stupid of him. Gray thought that it was a good idea as well. But they didn't talk about this. When it came to their relationship, Gray and Juvia talked about what they wanted out of it: their first date, their first mission, the first time they were intimate. But this came out of nowhere. He could understand that she didn't want to live with him. The shirtless man wouldn't force her either. Better to leave now than stay in this awkward air.

However, before Gray reached the doorknob, Juvia quickly wrapped her arms around his waist.

"No. Don't go. Juvia was just surprised." She pleaded.

Gray stopped in his tracks, once again reveling in her body heat. He could feel himself sinking into Juvia.

"Please come back." She begged.

Gray didn't answer Juvia but he did put his hand on top of her intertwined ones.

"Will you sit with Juvia?" She asked.

"Okay." Gray agreed.

Juvia led her boyfriend back to her couch. Once he was situated and comfortable, the water mage began to speak.

"Does Gray really want Juvia to live with him?" She asked.

Gray gave Juvia an incredulous look. "What kind of question is that? Of course I do."

"Why now?" Juvia asked.

Gray was about to say something but as soon as he opened his mouth, he closed it up afterwards. Why did he just bring this up now?

"I don't know." He admitted, scratching the back of his head.

Juvia closed her eyes for a bit, thinking about the right thing she should say at this point. She didn't want to offend Gray again but she wanted to know what brought about him asking her to live together.

"You do know why you asked, Gray." Juvia said in her softest voice. "Please, tell Juvia." She pleaded.

Gray looked into Juvia's eyes, her beautiful blue almost turquoise eyes, and he was gone.

"I just thought that if we started living together, we would be even closer than we are now." He mumbled almost bashfully.

Juvia was stunned. Stunned I tell you. To hear Gray say something like that was almost like manna from heaven. Juvia knew that Gray loved her. He never wasted an opportunity to say that. Juvia also knew that Gray was planning a future that included her, even if sometimes he didn't say anything about it. But now, to hear him say something like this was almost too much to bear.

"Juvia would like that." She mumbled just as bashfully.

"You would?" Gray asked childishly, as if he was going to be given the greatest present ever.

Juvia just nodded with her eyes closed, heat rising in her face. If her eyes opened, she would have seen Gray lunging at her. But she didn't mind when he planted open mouth kisses on her exposed skin. In fact, she thoroughly enjoyed it.

* * *

The next day, Gray had bought the house that he had his eye on. As he signed the lease, he felt a sense of pride that came with owning a house.

Two days later, Juvia Lockser moved out of Fairy Hills and moved in with Gray Fullbuster.

Juvia didn't see Gray's new house until she moved in. That's when he gave her the grand tour. The water mage was impressed by all of the space and how well made the house itself was. The living room was huge, great for get-togethers and parties. The dining room had enough space to fit many of their guildmates in for a formal dinner. The multiple bedrooms were fantastic. The master bedroom had a bath connected to it. The two other bedrooms could be used for guests and ... maybe one day, children. (Juvia blushed at that thought.) Heck, even the basement had potential as a game room.

But with all of this space comes a need to fill it. And this house, well... herein lies the rub.

"Gray, it's empty." Juvia told him

That's right, boys and girls. Gray Fullbuster's house had very little in it. It looked like he moved his entire apartment and chucked it into his house.

Now let's be clear. Juvia loves her boyfriend, Gray. Juvia loves everything about him, even his flaws (like he has any). But if there was one thing that she could change about him (perish the thought), it would be his place of dwelling, or rather how it was decorated. Gray's living arrangements from his old apartment were what is known as Spartan. He had only the essentials: a full-size bed, a dresser, a stove, a fridge, a small end table and a couch. That's it.

Aside from the few pictures he had of his important people, there was nothing in his apartment that held Gray's awesome personality. There was no wall that held mementos of the jobs that he undertook like Natsu had. There was no giant library like Levy's. It didn't have that cozy feel that Lucy's apartment did. Hell, even Gajeel had that pile of scrap iron in a corner. There was no books, no pets and no posters of women in swimsuits (of course Juvia would get mad if there were). There was nothing. And the thing that irked Juvia the most was that it wasn't painted AT ALL. Gray's old apartment was a dull eggshell color and it has never received a coat of paint in all of the time he lived there. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that Gray had the keys, no one could tell that he lived there.

Juvia could understand why Gray's old apartment was under furnished. One was that he didn't spend a lot of time there. He was usually on a mission or hanging out at the guild. The ice mage only used this place for sleep. But also, there was just so little space that you couldn't put a lot of stuff there. You could only have the essentials and maybe one or two personal stuff. And though she loved spending time with Gray in his apartment, Juvia couldn't stand the fact that Gray's house didn't reflect anything about him. She wouldn't tell him this though because it wasn't her place to say.

However, Juvia thought that as soon as Gray moved into his house that he would personalize his living space a little more to reflect himself. But ...

"What's wrong, Juvia?" Gray asked, a bit concerned. He thought that Juvia would be excited to be living with him. However, one look on her face told him that she was somewhat muted.

"Is this it?" The water mage asked. "Are there plans to buy some stuff?"

Gray looked at her quizzically. "No. Not really."

"But Gray, you need stuff to fill this place." Juvia pleaded with him.

"Juvia, it's just a house." Gray told her. "It's just a building where we sleep."

Juvia could hear Gray's words echoing in her head. Just a house. JUST A HOUSE. **JUST A HOUSE. **How could Gray think something like that? This was unacceptable. Juvia made it her mission to change his mind.

"Juvia cannot accept this." She mumbled.

Gray turned around. "What was that?"

"Gray cannot live in such a bland place." Juvia shouted at the top of her lungs.

The ice mage was confused. "Whaaa?"

All of a sudden, Juvia pushed Gray out of his own house, disregarding his protest as the door was slammed in his face.

* * *

Thus, we return to the present.

Macao, after hearing the story, slapped Gray on the back. "Welcome to the domestic life, Gray." He cackled. "This is what women do when they move in."

Wakaba couldn't help but add his two cents. "It's called nesting."

Gray narrowed his eyes in puzzlement. "Nesting?" He asked.

"Yep." Wakaba answered. "It's when women start making your house in the way they see fit. Then she seizes control of your life one piece at a time and you find your own hopes and dreams put on hold."

Gray's eyes widened. "Really?" He gasped.

"Yep." Macao continued. "You can't spend your own jewels. You have to beg permission for every little thing you want to buy."

"Precious belongings you labored to collect are tossed like so much junk" Wakaba continued to lecture "And she thinks nothing about taking your hard earned money and blowing it on some fancy hat."

Gray got worried. Would Juvia be like that? No, not Juvia. She loves him, right?

He felt a comforting hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Mirajane smiling on him.

"Don't listen to these old men." Mira told the ice mage. "Macao hasn't had a steady girlfriend since he got divorced and Wakaba constantly hides out in the guild to avoid going home to his wife."

"Mira." The aforementioned men shouted.

Mira smiled and turned into Wakaba's wife, which, as usual, unnerved him.

She turned to Gray. "You know that Juvia loves you."

"I know." Gray muttered. "But why did she kick me out of my own house?"

Mira was thoughtful for a moment. "Well, what was the last thing you discussed?"

Gray meditated on that for a moment. "Well, she said something about my house being empty."

The barmaid furrowed her eyebrows. Then, it dawned on her.

"Gray, why don't you take a mission?" She said.

The ice mage read her body language. It sounded like a question but it actually wasn't. However, Gray wasn't ready to give up just yet.

"But what about my problem?" He questioned the barmaid.

But Mira acted like she didn't hear him. Instead, she hand him a slip of paper.

Gray read the paper. "This mission?"

"Yep. I think you should go on this mission." Mira told him.

"But what about my problem?" Gray nearly whined.

"Trust me. By the time you return, your problem will be resolved." Mira smiled.

Gray sighed. He really didn't want to go on that mission but Mira did promise that everything would be alright when returned.

"Fine." He said as he took the paper. "Tell Juvia I went on a mission if you see her."

Mira furrowed her eyebrows. "You aren't going back to your house?"

"I can't." Gray growled softly. "She had Levy make a rune barrier preventing me from entering my house until she says so."

Mira was surprised. She never would have suspected that Juvia would take it this far, whatever this was.

Gray headed towards the door without even a goodbye.

Mira decided to go to Gray's house to see what was going on.

* * *

When she got there, Mirajane saw quite the sight. Juvia was directing Natsu and Gajeel into Gray's house. The two men were carrying what looked like heavy furniture on their backs. They looked like they were struggling. Behind them was Happy and Carla who were carrying paint rollers and tarps. Erza was hefting large rolls of carpet. And bringing up the rear were Lucy, Levy and Wendy, carrying buckets of paint.

"Okay, Natsu-kun, Gajeel-kun, leave the furniture outside." Juvia told the men. "Juvia, Lucy-chan, Levy-chan and Wendy-chan will start painting. Please get the rest."

Natsu growled at Juvia. "Where the hell is Gray? Shouldn't he be helping?

"This is a surprise for Gray." Juvia told him.

"But I'm not going to even live here. Why should I help?" Natsu shot back, slamming the table he was carrying on the ground.

Juvia gave Natsu her scariest look. "That end table cost Juvia 9500 jewels. If you break it, Juvia will break you."

Natsu shivered in fear. "Aye." He squeaked.

Gajeel, having seen Juvia's scary look before, was unfazed by the water mage. "I'm actually with Salamander on this. Snowflake should be doing this."

Juvia knew that she had nothing to convince Gajeel to do this for her, so she turned to Levy. The Solid Script mage immediately recognized the water mage's plead and nodded with a smile.

Levy sidled up to her boyfriend. "Oh Gajeel, please do this as a favor for me." She cooed. "I promise to make it worth your while."

Gajeel felt a chill run up his spine, a good chill. "Fine." He scoffed. "But you owe me, Short Stack."

Levy smiled. "Of course."

Natsu, seeing the way Levy was treating Gajeel, turned to Lucy. "Why don't I get that kind of treatment, Lucy?" He whined to his girlfriend.

Lucy just glowered at him.

"Are you still mad because of the laundry?" Natsu sighed. "I tried to do a good thing and I get yelled at."

"You washed the colors with the whites and now my white sheets are now pink." Lucy spazzed out on Natsu.

The Fire Dragon Slayer didn't get it. "I don't see what the big deal is. You like pink." Natsu grinned lecherously. "In fact, you love playing with the pink hair down on my ..."

Lucy whacked Natsu on the head with the heavy paint can, leaving a huge knot on his skull. He groaned in pain. His spirit hung over his body in defeat.

Happy giggled. "Natsu's out for the count."

Juvia sighed at the scene. At this rate...

She looked up and saw Mira waving at her. "Ahh, Mira-san." She greeted

The barmaid merrily walked over to Juvia. "It's just as I thought." She said with a smile on her face. "You are decorating Gray's house."

"Uh-huh." The water mage nodded. "Juvia wants Gray's home to be a place he wants to go to instead of a place he needs to."

"I can understand that." Mira told her.

"Where is Gray, though?" Juvia asked. "Juvia hopes he is not mad at her."

"I sent him on a mission. It should take him about a week to complete." Mira answered. "And for the record, he isn't mad. He's just confused as to why you are doing this."

"Oh thank goodness. Juvia was so worried." She sighed in relief.

"Well, now that that's settled, how about I help you?" Mira smiled.

"Juvia would appreciate that." She smiled back.

"That's all well and good." Erza said, somehow slipping in between the two women. Juvia was a bit frightened while Mira was completely unfazed. "However, we should get back to work."

"Yes ma'am." All of them shouted.

* * *

Gray had returned from his mission. It took him five days to complete and two days of travel but he was finally back in Magnolia. He was tired, sweaty, and still quite sour from the indignity that he suffered by being thrown out of his own house. I mean, if he were dating Lucy or Erza, he understand a little. (Those two had a temper on them.) But this was Juvia. JUVIA. The woman who had a crush on him from day one. What reason could she have for doing this?

Well, whatever the reason, he was going to know today. Gray headed to his house.

When he reached the front door, Gray noticed something strange. It was the door knocker. It was shaped like the Fairy Tail insignia. Curious. Did Juvia do this?

A bit stunned and forgetting he had keys, Gray knocked on the door of his own house.

"Coming." A feminine voice called out from inside, a voice he knew belonged to Juvia.

The door opened and revealed his girlfriend's smiling face. "Welcome back, Gray." She said as she hugged her boyfriend.

Okay. That wasn't what he was expecting. But before he could say something, his arms, on reflex, wrapped around Juvia's supple waist.

"Juvia is so excited." She squealed. "Juvia wants to show Gray what she has done to the place."

For some odd reason, he remembered Macao and Wakaba's words about nesting. But he put it out of his mind just as quickly. This was Juvia. Juvia loved him and wouldn't do anything like that, right? RIGHT?

The water mage quickly grabbed Gray by the hand and dragged him along. He barely had time to remove his sneakers at the front door with the force she was pulling him. As soon as he got out of the hallway and into the living room, the ice mage's eyes opened wide.

The first thing that caught his eyes was the color of the room. It was ice blue instead of the drab white that came with the house. He noticed a new couch in the living room, complete with loveseat and ottoman. There was a standing lamp in between the couch and loveseat. His feet felt carpet beneath him and, sure enough, when he looked down, he saw red shag carpet on the floor. Oh how his feet loved it. Next his eyes turned to the fireplace where he saw many of the pictures that he had in his old apartment and some from Juvia's place hanging above it.

"Juvia." Gray said, totally in shock.

"There's more, Gray." Juvia told him.

Gray allowed himself to be dragged again. This time, he was led to the kitchen. Again, his eyes roamed around to see what was there. The floor caught his attention first. Black shiny marble, squared off and decorated with the Fairy Tail symbol on each tile. The cabinets were burgundy mahogany. The appliances were black as well to match the floor. The walls were painted a nice sky white.

"Juvia, did you do all this?" Gray whispered, still unable to take in the sight.

"Juvia had some help." She admitted.

This time, Juvia let go of Gray's hand and he followed her into the dining room. There, he was treated to a long glass table and chairs. A beautiful chandelier hung above the table, giving the room some ambiance.

After that, Juvia led him upstairs to the master bedroom. There he saw a king size bed, a large dresser and an end table that looked like...

"A snowflake?" Gray wondered aloud.

Juvia nodded, her face slightly flushed.

"Why a snowflake?" He asked.

"Gray is an ice mage so..." She trailed off.

The ice mage in question grabbed Juvia's hand. "Why would you go through all this trouble though?"

Juvia sighed and averted her eyes. "A home should be a reflection of the owner's personality. Gray has an awesome personality so it should reflect that in his home. Gray said that this is just a house, a place where you sleep. But it shouldn't be like that. It should be a place where you want to return to at the end of the day."

Gray closed his eyes and smiled. He gently grabbed her chin and turned it to face him. He leaned in and kissed Juvia gently, making sure to run his tongue across her lips. Juvia moaned but it was swallowed up by Gray.

Gray pulled back. "Thank you, Juvia, for everything."

"You're welcome, Gray." Juvia smiled. "Juvia is just thankful that Gray is letting her move into his house."

"No, not my house, Juvia. Our house. Our home." Gray corrected. "That's why tomorrow we are going to get some stuff that reflects your awesome personality as well."

Juvia blushed slightly. "No that's not necessary."

"It is necessary." Gray told her. "You are going to be living here now."

Juvia gave up trying to convince him otherwise. Gray could be really stubborn when it came to issues like this.

"Juvia is cooking dinner right now." The blue haired woman told her boyfriend. "Gray should wash up. He looks like he needs it."

Gray chuckled. "I sure do." He said.

With that, he headed to the bathroom to shower.

Juvia had just finished cooking his favorite meal when Gray came down to the dining room to eat. Forgoing the shirt since he'd strip it anyways, the ice mage just put on some shorts and sat down, thanking Juvia for the food.

As he ate, Gray reflected on the last couple of days. At first, he was hesitant in living with Juvia. Not that he didn't love her, but that this would be a major change in their relationship, especially because he didn't bring it up before this. Afterwards, when Juvia kicked him out of his own house, he was somewhat sour because of... well being kicked out of his own house. But now, the ice mage knew that he made the right decision in asking Juvia to move in with him. He could already see some happy times in this house... correction... their home.

And he knew that they'd have lots of fun christening each room in their new home. Gray smirked somewhat lewdly at Juvia, who regarded him curiously.

"What is it, Gray?" She asked.

Gray's smirk grew larger. "I was thinking that we just got a new bed and it needs to be _broken_ in." He said, emphasizing the broken part with a waggle of his eyebrows.

Juvia's face had a light dusting of red on it. But then she returned the smirk. "Juvia thinks she'll enjoy that."

Gray couldn't wait any longer. He got up from the table and grabbed Juvia, chucking her on his shoulder. The blue haired woman squealed in delight as she was picked up.

As he climbed the stairs to the bedroom, one last thought crossed his mind.

_There's no place like home._

* * *

_Word Count: 4951_

**And another chapter down. Yay team.**

**When I came up with the FT project, this was one of the fics I really wanted to do. But it wasn't worth making this a money shot. Still, I hope you enjoyed it.**

**This is actually based off of my life when I asked my girlfriend to move in with me. She did kick me out of my own house and decorated it. To this day, I get laughed at for that.**

**Anyways, love it? Hate it? Have no opinion whatsoever? Leave me a review. Here's the prompt for the next chapter.**

_Juvia learned first hand that Gray's love was cold. He could be emotionally distant at times. It took a special person to handle his frigid love. But his touch, oh, his touch. His touch chilled her to the bones and even her soul._

**An easy prompt. So what's the I word.**

**Also I pose a conundrum to you. A riddle if you will. It came to me when I was at work.**

**"What is Juvia's favorite book?" Guess the answer right, I'll give you an extra 10 points. Give me a laugh and that's worth five points.**

**Well, till next time.**

**A. Angel**


	9. I is for Ice

**Chapter Get  
**

**Well, here's another chapter. But first, the reviews.  
**

**To all those who thought my girlfriend was awesome for kicking me out of my own house, I say, wow. Where's the love? I think I'm going to go home, cry, eat a tub of ice cream and listen to Adele.T_T I'm kidding. I don't have any Adele songs.  
**

**counterfactuals, dorac, gohan, I am glad you liked the description of the house. It's something new to me since I usually ignore physical descriptions unless it is essential to the story. I focus more on the emotions of the characters. It's nice to do something different.  
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**bluemages, Actually, I do see Juvia acting like Gray's servant in the beginning of their relationship. I would think that she would do anything to keep him even if it meant doing that. But after two years, I also think that she would come into herself and be confident in their relationship.  
**

**Missforgetfulme, I'm just messing with you. I'm not bothered by the swag thing. In fact, whenever I meet someone who says they have swag, I tell them I want large fries with my meal. :-P  
**

**And to all of you who read and review, lots of loves  
**

**First, we'll get to the points. Two points to Ulcassi, Sarah, superduper, sarapyon, counterfactuals, blackiris, arashic dorac, yukari, starryheaven, waterpanda, gray-mochi, bluemages, gohan, lurv4, ivory, karano, animeluvv, aznmelody, nyanana, and iceninja. Ten points to bystander, nyanana, animeluvv, arashic, gohan, waterpanda, starryheaven, missforgetfulme, gray-mochi, yukari, dorac, missmonsterite, and solid-script for guessing Juvia's favorite book 50 shades of Gray. (It's a stupid joke. I know. My bad.) Also, 5 points for gray-mochi for naming Juvia's favorite show Gray's Anatomy. That made me laugh.  
**

**Speaking of Gray's Anatomy (Awesome segue, I know), there is going to be a lemon in this chapter. Like the Nalu story, I will divide this into 4 parts with the third part being the actual lemon. If you wish to read it, you are more than welcomed to. If not, that's fine as well. However, I will be raising the rating on this chapter.  
**

**And now, our feature presentation.**

* * *

**I is for Ice**

_As the winter winds litter London with lonely hearts / Oh the warmth in your eyes swept me in your arms / Was it love or fear of the cold that led us through the night / For every kiss your beauty trumped my doubt ~ Winter Winds, Mumford and Sons_

Juvia loves hanging out with the Fairy Tail girls. She didn't have many friends growing up. But the people in this guild are so nice and inviting, especially the women. Sure, at first, Juvia thought that they were rivals for Gray-sama's love. Now, she sees them as they are, always supportive of Juvia when it came to Gray-sama, especially Mira-san and Cana-san.

We were sitting outside of the guild, lounging by the pool. The men plus Erza were inside of the guild, playing bowling using barrels as bowling balls and tables as pins. Juvia wanted to stay inside to cheer Gray-sama on but she was forced out by Mira-san and Lisanna-san, claiming that this would be good for female bonding. That is why Juvia is outside. She likes having talks with the girls, especially because we are rarely in the guild at the same time.

We sit in a loose oval shape, with Cana-san and Lisanna-san sitting on opposite sides of Juvia. First, it starts with off with recent missions. Then it turns to rumors. Somehow the conversation turned to boys and who was doing what with whom. Juvia is not surprised that it was Cana-san that brought the subject up. Juvia knows she blushing when Cana-san talks about her first time, It's not that Juvia is ashamed of her first time. It's just that she can't believe that Cana-san can be so blunt about it. There are just some things that shouldn't be said in polite company.

"So let's see." Cana-san leers. "I know about Lucy and her encounter with the Fire Dragon."

Juvia turns around and sees Lucy blush. "Does everyone know about that?"

"Of course, Lucy." Cana-san leers.

It is no secret in the guild that Lucy-san and Natsu-san... did that... (Juvia can hardly say it in her head). Cana-san had gotten Natsu-san very, very drunk and he blurted out what had happened. Fortunately for him, Lucy-san was away on a mission that day. But she eventually learned what had transpired and Lucy was not happy about it. Juvia heard that Natsu-san was in pain for two days.

"And I know about Mira-chan and the countless men she went through back in the days." Cana-san continued.

Juvia looks across at Mira-san. She has on a very polite smile. "That was a long time ago." She says, still smiling. "I've grown up since then."

"And I've heard rumors that Erza and Ichiya had a one-night stand." Cana-san giggled, as she downed another barrel of alcohol. "Of course, she was very drunk and so was the perfume mage. That's why she no longer drinks alcohol."

"Oh my gosh? Did they really?" Lucy-san gasps.

Okay, that takes Juvia by surprise. Sure, Juvia has seen how Ichiya-san acts around Erza-san. It reminds Juvia about how she used to be like before she and Gray-sama used to date. But Juvia can't imagine Erza-san doing anything like that. Perhaps it is just that, a rumor.

Everyone is shocked. "I don't believe that Erza would do something like that." Levy-san voices out Juvia's own doubts.

"Well, can you explain why the man is so overly attached to Erza?" Cana-san rebuts. "And can you explain why Erza never wants to be around Ichiya?"

Lucy was about to reply but her mouth shut close. Juvia surmises that she didn't have anything to say to that.

"Moving on from Erza..." Cana-san continues. She turns to Lisanna-san. "Hey Lisanna! Have you done anyone while you were in Edolas?"

Lisanna-san has a coy smile. "You're going to have to ask the people in Edolas." She tells Cana-san.

Cana-san sticks out her tongue at Lisanna-san. "Okay, who else have I yet to hear a first time story from?"

Juvia tries to make herself invisible, even though she is right next to Cana-san. She does not want to tell all of the girls about Juvia and Gray-sama's first time.

Fortunately, her eyes land on Levy and not on Juvia.

"Ahh, Levy. Cute, adorable Levy." She begins.

Juvia can see the red tinge forming on her face. And although Juvia feels sorry for her, she is grateful that Cana-san's attention isn't on her.

"Has the Iron Dragon visited your cavern yet?" She grins lecherously.

Juvia can almost see the steam forming over Levy-san's head. She starts stammering.

"But... but-but... but..." Levy-san stutters.

"It's okay." Cana-san snickers. "We are all adults here. This is just tradition amongst us girls."

Levy-san doesn't look convinced. "Me... Me and Gajeel... we never... we never did... it." She says, tripping over her words.

Cana-san waves her off. "I don't believe it. All guys want to do it."

Juvia thinks that all of Levy-san's blood is now in her face. "I'm telling you. Me and Gajeel haven't done anything like that."

She looks away for a moment. Juvia can see a wistful look on her face. "Besides, I want to wait until I am married."

Juvia thinks that it is sweet. A girl's first time is special, no matter when it is. But to wait until marriage, there's something magical about that.

Cana-san looks floored. "Are you kidding?" She near-shouts. "Are you saying that he hasn't tried pining you between the wall and his muscled body? Are you saying that he's never thrown you on his bed and ravished you to the point where you are just a muddled mess of nerves?"

Levy-san's blush intensifies. She shakes her head.

Cana-san then asks Levy-san about her relationship with Gajeel-kun. Levy-san does so, explaining how her relationship with him is like. Juvia learns many things about Gajeel-kun and how he has changed now that he is with Levy.

Gajeel-kun comes out later on and picks up Levy. He promises her ice cream and he squirms when Levy gives him affection in public. Juvia thinks that it is cute. To think that Gajeel-kun would change this much...

"Well, I'll be..." Cana-san whistles at the retreating forms of Gajeel-kun and Levy.

"You know, you can have a relationship without sex, Cana." That voice belongs to Mira-san.

"I know. I know." Cana-san grumbles. "I'm just surprised, is all."

"Guess that means that you can't live vicariously through her sex life." Mira-san smiles. It's a wicked smile that Juvia has seen before. It promises mischief. "Perhaps instead of that, you should find a guy to have a steady relationship with."

Cana-san looks away. Juvia can't believe it. She is blushing.

"Yeah, I'll do that later." She mumbles. "For right now, I want to hear about other people's sex lives."

Juvia muffles a squeak. If Cana-san turns to her, Juvia wouldn't know what to do. Maybe if she tries to sneak away...

Juvia takes this moment to get up. Slowly, softly. Don't make any sudden movements.

"Juvia!" Cana-san shouts. "How could I forget about you?"

Juvia squeaks. She was really hoping to escape.

Cana-san grabs Juvia's hand and she is forced back down to sit next to Cana-san.

"So how about it?" Cana-san asks, a bit too happily. "Has Gray's glacier experienced your global warming?" She says while poking Juvia's breasts.

Juvia knows she's blushing. How can Cana-san say such explicit things without blushing? Juvia can barely remember her first time without blushing.

"Juvia doesn't want to, Cana-san." She tells Cana-san. Juvia hopes that it is forceful enough.

"Don't be stingy, Juvia-chan." Cana-san laughed. "We all want to know what kind of lover Gray is."

"That is personal." Juvia shrieks.

"Aww, don't be like that." Cana-san chuckles. "You've heard everyone else's first time. Let's hear your first time. This is your chance to brag about how fantastic Gray is in bed."

Juvia feels like she's trapped. Cana-san isn't letting go. Plus she is making Juvia feel guilty. It's not like Juvia wanted to hear about the others' first time.

The other girls look at Juvia. Juvia believes that they can feel her pain. They all know how pushy Cana-san can get when it comes to this subject.

"Juvia doesn't know." She says. Juvia isn't all that confident in herself now. Cana-san has a way of being very convincing.

"Is that the way you treat a nakama who has worked tirelessly to get you and Gray together?" Cana-san asks. Her face is in a frown. Now, Juvia feels bad. "Remember how we put you on that date with what's his face to get Gray jealous. Then I got you drunk enough that you could tell Gray about your feelings without passing out?"

See. Like that. Juvia is feeling guilty.

Now her face is all smiles again. "Besides, I am pretty sure that Gray has already told the guys all about it."

Juvia feels indignant. "Not Gray-sama. He would never do that."

Cana-san smirks. "As if. Guys talk about it all the time. You shouldn't be ashamed to talk about it."

Juvia knows that Cana-san won't give up asking. So, she feels as though it would be better to just say it and leave some details out than to try and fight her. Because if it came down to that, then Juvia knows that Cana-san would win.

Juvia hangs her head in defeat. "Fine. Juvia will tell you."

"Score." Cana-san cheers, raising her arms in victory. "Now spill, girl."

Juvia takes a deep breath. "Actually, to be honest, it's all thanks to Cana-san." Juvia begins.

* * *

It was a month ago, specifically Gray-sama's birthday. Juvia didn't know that it was his birthday. What is it with Fairy Tail and its guild members not telling others about their birthday. Well, it's not like Juvia is innocent in that repsect either. Perhaps it is because of the same reason. Until Juvia joined Fairy Tail, no other date mattered.

Juvia actually learned of Gray-sama's birthday from Mira-san. She asked Juvia what she was planning to get him. Juvia was floored. It was Gray-sama's birthday and Juvia didn't know? Juvia is a horrible girlfriend. Thank goodness Mira-san was there to comfort Juvia. She told Juvia that Gray-sama never really celebrated his birthday, even when he was young. Everyone just told him Happy Birthday. There was no cake because he doesn't really like sweets. There was no birthday games because he would compete with Natsu-kun and destroy the guild

Well, Juvia is going to change all of that. She is going to celebrate his birthday.

But therein lies the problem. Juvia doesn't know what to give him. She's been dating Gray-sama for a year now and she doesn't know what he would like.

That is when Cana-san showed up. She has a barrel of beer in her arm as she usually does.

"I've got an idea." Cana-san say as she wraps her free arm around Juvia's neck in a friendly manner. "Why don't you give him yourself?"

Juvia is confused. "But Gray-sama already has Juvia. Juvia doesn't understand."

Cana-san's smile gets a bit creepier. She then goes into her satchel and pulls out a thin white box. "Here, Juvia. This is for Gray."

Juvia takes the box from Cana-san. It feels light. Juvia is curious. What could Cana-san give Gray-sama.

Juvia has to know. She takes a peek. Juvia drops the box. Her hands are shaking. What is that?

"You like it?" Cana-san grins. "I think he's going to like it too."

Juvia can feel her face heat up. She closes her eyes with her hands over them. "Gray-sama can't wear something like that. That is for girls."

Juvia can feel Cana-san's eyes on her. Then she starts to laugh. "Juvia, you're too much." She laughs, slamming her hands against the bar.

Juvia doesn't understand. Why is she laughing? "What did Juvia say?"

Cana-san stops laughing but there is still a grin on her face. "You really don't know what that is?" She asks.

"Of course Juvia knows what it is." Juvia tells Cana-san. "It's a negligee, a cream-colored one. Boys don't wear negligees."

Cana-san laughs harder. "You... him... wear..." Cana-san collapses on the floor in laughter.

Juvia doesn't understand. What did she say?

"Oh sweetie. You've lived a very sheltered life." Cana-san says in between laughter. "This is for you to wear."

Juvia furrows her eyebrows. "Then why is it a present for Gray-sama if Juvia is wearing..." Juvia imagines herself wearing the negligee. In her imagination, she can see Gray-sama's eyes on her. Then his hands on Juvia. So many fantasies.

Juvia feels herself blushing.

"Now you get it." Cana-san says way too cheerfully. Then she hands Juvia a box. "Here you go."

Juvia's hands take the box before her brain realizes that she did. NO. Juvia can't do this. She can't wear this.

Cana-san must have seen this because she grabs Juvia's chin. She looks so serious. "Listen to me. You have a rockin' body. Don't be afraid to use it."

Juvia is in awe of Cana-san. Here she is, giving Juvia the courage to go through with this.

"Besides, Gray would appreciate it, believe me." She grins.

Juvia doesn't know. On one hand, Juvia wants to do this. But Juvia is nervous. Juvia has never been confident with her body. Not like Gray-sama. But if it'll make Gray-sama happy, then Juvia will do it.

* * *

Juvia is waiting for Gray-sama in his apartment. It took a lot of mental convincing but Juvia is wearing the negligee. She looks at herself in the mirror.

Juvia has never felt more exposed. The top and middle part of see-through. There is a darker cream colored line that barely covers Juvia's breasts. On the bottom of the negligee is a faux fur lining. Juvia doesn't know what its function is at all. Juvia wanted to wear a bra and shorts but Cana-san said that it wouldn't work. Juvia feels so very, very exposed.

Juvia has never so nervous about anything until now. Gray-sama and Juvia have never talked about this. We have always talked about any changes in our relationship. But this is too much. What if Cana-san is wrong? What if Gray-sama doesn't want this? What if Gray-sama thinks that Juvia is too lewd? What if Gray-sama doesn't want to be with Juvia after this display?

Juvia can't do this. She needs to leave. Perhaps if Juvia leaves now, Gray-sama won't think bad of Juvia.

Juvia needs to leave. She starts to get her stuff to leave. But it was at that time that she hears the door. Of course Gray-sama would come at this time.

Juvia is nervous. Now she's trapped.

She can hear the door slam shut. It makes Juvia squeak.

"Who's there?" Gray-sama shouts out.

Oh how Juvia wants to disappear. But she can't. She's trapped, wearing this... lewd piece of nightwear.

"It's Juvia." She calls out. Then she covered her mouth. Why did she do that?

"Oh hey Juvia." Gray-sama's voice sounds happy. "Where are you?"

Juvia can hear Gray-sama put his keys on the table and lock the door. Oh now Juvia is completely trapped

"Juvia is in the bedroom." Why did Juvia say that? Now Gray-sama is going to know where she is. He is going to see Juvia in this... this outfit. But, then again, with the size of Gray-sama's apartment, there is no place to hide.

"Why are you in the bedroom?" He asks.

What is Juvia going to say to that? Why is Juvia doing this?

"Juvia was waiting for Gray-sama to show up."

No. Why did Juvia say that? Now Gray-sama is going to see Juvia in this...

"Oh, if I had known you were waiting for me here, I wouldn't have stopped off at the guild first." Gray says, while he turns on some of the lights in his apartment. "I was looking for you there but Cana said you had left. Then I went to your place but you weren't there either."

Juvia is nervous. He's getting closer. What is Juvia going to say when he sees her like this? What will Gray-sama think?

"What's wrong, Juvia?" He asks from the hallway. Gray-sama sounds so concerned. "You've been quiet."

And that's when Gray-sama walked through the door and sees Juvia. He dropped the backpack that he was carrying.

Juvia can feel Gray-sama's eyes on her: roving, boring, penetrating. She can see some confusion in his eyes but also a hunger. She can see him swallow hard, as if he is finding it hard to breathe. But more importantly, he is blushing. Juvia hasn't seen Gray-sama blush so hard. What isn't helping is the fact that Gray-sama is once again shirtless. On any other day, Gray-sama not clothed from the waist up wouldn't be a big problem. But this isn't any other day.

Juvia feels very uncomfortable with Gray-sama's eyes on her. She feels the need to cover up but her arms aren't responding. Juvia, why are your arms not moving?

"Juvia." Gray-sama whispers.

Juvia feels so nervous. What is Gray-sama going to say?

"Gray-sama." Juvia doesn't know what else to say.

"Wha... wha... is this?" Juvia has never seen Gray-sama lose his cool. (Pardon the pun.)

"Juvia heard that today is Gray-sama's birthday." It is amazing that Juvia's voice has become calmer than it has been before she came to his apartment dressed in... dressed in this.

"Okay. But why..." Gray-sama contorts his face, as if he is finding it hard to keep his voice calm and steady. "Why are you... your clothes..."

If it were any other situation, Juvia would have laughed at the obvious hypocrisy. But this isn't any other situation. This is Juvia in Gray-sama's apartment, wearing nothing but a negligee with his eyes on her.

"Juvia wanted to celebrate Gray-sama's birthday." Juvia closes her eyes to make herself calmer. "And Cana-san said that..."

"This was all Cana?" He asks. Juvia can hear annoyance in his voice. "Figures."

Juvia feels ashamed. "Juvia is sorry."

Gray-sama shakes his head. "Nah. Don't worry about it. I need to tell that woman not to mess with you."

Juvia can feel tears in her eyes. "Cana-san said that for their birthdays, guys want se... se... se"

Juvia can feel Gray-sama's comforting hand on her shoulder. "I get it."

Gray-sama takes a deep breath and sits on his bed. He pats one side of the bed. Is he telling Juvia to sit next to him? Okay. Juvia will sit next to him.

He turns and faces Juvia. "Listen, Juvia."

Juvia nods. She is starting to feel more comfortable by the minute, despite being dressed like she is.

"Remember when we learned about how Natsu and Lucy's relationship started. You asked me when we were going to..."

Juvia nods. Curiously, Juvia can see some pink spots on his cheeks, his perfectly angular cheeks. "Juvia remembers."

"What did we say we were going to do?" He asks.

"That Gray-sama and Juvia will take that step when we were ready and comfortable with it." Juvia responds.

"Right."

Then Gray-sama takes Juvia's hand. Juvia's heart flutter when he does so.

"Juvia, you know I love you, right." Gray-sama asks.

As if he has to ask. "Yes. And Juvia loves Gray-sama."

"I know." Now he starts rubbing his thumb on Juvia's knuckles. It's funny to think that such a small action can make Juvia feel so happy.

"Juvia, we don't need to rush anything in our relationship. We can go at our own pace."

Juvia sighs. All of her worries, all of her tension disappear. Juvia feels so loved. There's no pressure in doing this. "Now Juvia feels so silly wearing this."

"You shouldn't. You look good in it." After he says that, Gray-sama covers his mouth. His eyes grow wide and quickly looks away.

Juvia can feel her face heat up.

"I mean you always look good in whatever you wear. You know what I mean." Gray-sama doesn't look Juvia in the eye when he says that. Perhaps he is embarrassed.

Juvia has never seen Gray-sama so flustered. No, that's not true. It was in Gray-sama and Juvia's battle when he grabbed her breast. Juvia always feels a bit embarrassed when she remembers that.

"Point is that you don't have to wear anything to get my attention." He says. Then Gray-sama cringes. "Dammit. Why can't I say anything right?"

Juvia smiles. It seems as though Gray-sama is just as nervous about this as Juvia. Juvia decides to put this to rest. She places a hand on Gray-sama's cheek. That makes him turn his attention to Juvia.

"Juvia understands."

Gray-sama smiles. Oh such a smile that lights up his face. No one but Juvia has seen it. No one but Juvia will ever see it.

Then he stops smiling. Gray-sama's eyes are half-lidded. Juvia can feel the intensity in his stare. He leans in. Oh, he's going to kiss Juvia.

Our lips meet. Oh, how Juvia loves kissing Gray-sama. When Juvia first fell in love with Gray-sama she had wondered what it would be like to kiss him. And now she knows. It's like eating a peppermint candy. How the cool, refreshing candy just tingles in one's mouth. But it's more than that. It feels like Juvia is drinking water while the peppermint candy is in her mouth. How the tingle gets more intense. That's what it feels like to kiss Gray-sama.

As Gray-sama and Juvia kiss, she feels herself being gently guided to lay on his bed. Juvia feels his strong, callused hands on her shoulders, rubbing, caressing, loving.

Juvia opens her eyes (which is weird because she didn't realize she had them closed in the first place). Now Gray-sama is on top of her, kissing her deeper. And Juvia can feel her body responding to his touch. God, he is so good. Does he even realize what he is doing to Juvia?

It feels like Juvia's body is on autopilot. That's the only reason to explain why her hands are stroking Gray-sama's arms.

Oh god. Now Gray-sama is kissing Juvia's neck, sucking on her pulse. He is so good. It makes Juvia squirm, which is probably why Juvia's leg brushes up against Gray-sama and she feels something.

Wait.

Hold on.

Juvia brushes her leg against Gray-sama again. This time it's a little more purposeful. This time, Gray-sama lets out a sound that is in between a groan and a sigh. Juvia knows what that means. Gray-sama wants Juvia. He wants Juvia bad.

"Gray-sama." Juvia feels like her voice is very breathy.

"Juvia." Gray-sama groans.

Juvia's head feels so muddled. On one hand, she feels embarrassed that Gray-sama is over her in her state of dress. On the other hand, Juvia wants Gray-sama.

Juvia then finds her hands on Gray-sama's chest, his perfect chiseled chest. When did this happen? But, then again, Juvia is finding it hard to care. All she wants to do is feel. And it feels amazing, especially when she traces out his guild stamp.

Gray-sama returns the favor, pulling the straps of Juvia's negligee. He starts kissing Juvia's shoulder blades. Oh, Juvia feels like turning into a puddle.

"Juvia." He whispers in Juvia's ear.

"Gray-sama."

Gray-sama's hands wander to Juvia's bare legs while we are still kissing. He's stroking them up and down. Juvia has never felt so good in her life. It's like every nerve in Juvia's body is singing, is desiring Gray-sama's touch. Then his hands stop.

"Juvia, is this too much?" He asks.

Juvia cannot even think with the pleasure that she is receiving. "Not enough, Gray-sama." Did she just say that? Did she just say that she wanted more?

"We don't have to do this now." Now he is looking Juvia in the eye. "We can wait."

Juvia thinks it's sweet that Gray-sama is still thinking of her while in the midst of pleasure. She feels like smiling. "Juvia wants more. Please Gray-sama."

Juvia can see Gray-sama swallow thickly. "Alright, Juvia. But if it gets to be too much, tell me."

Gray-sama goes back to caressing Juvia's legs and kissing her. But then, she feels ... cold for some reason. If only for a second, Juvia felt something cold on her legs. Juvia doesn't understand and yet it feels good. She feels it again. It's definitely on her legs, specifically the places where Gray-sama's hands are.

Juvia understands now. It's Gray-sama's magic. Does he know that he's doing it? Is it leaking unconsciously from his hands? Juvia doesn't know. But she doesn't want it to stop. It feels so good.

Juvia has to participate. She has to return the pleasure that she is receiving.

Juvia decides to run her fingers along Gray-sama's abs. He has some killer abs. Just the thought of them can send Juvia in a tizzy. Strange, Juvia feels like she's done this before.

"God, Juvia. It feels good." He tells Juvia.

Juvia feels so happy that Gray-sama feels pleasure from Juvia's touch.

Gray-sama's hands are on the top part of Juvia's negligee. Juvia opens her eyes and sees Gray-sama looking at her intently. Juvia knows what he wants. "It's okay." Juvia tells him.

"You sure?" He asks.

Oh, Gray-sama is so considerate. Juvia nods.

Gray-sama pulls down the top part, exposing Juvia's naked breasts. Juvia can feel the heat rising in her face. She is so embarrassed that she covers them with her arms.

"Juvia." He asks, his voice sounds so concerned. "Are you sure you want to do this now? We don't have to do this, you know."

"It's not that, Gray-sama. It's just that Juvia has never been so exposed."

Juvia has never really been comfortable with her body. It probably goes back to the days back when Juvia was little. The kids always teased her about her body. It's one of the reasons why she wears clothes that hide it. She can wear a bathing suit no problem. She can also wear a very nice one piece strapless dress. But the thought being naked around others, even in the girls' onsen where there is privacy expected, makes Juvia feel embarrassed. To this day, Juvia finds it ironic that she fell in love with a man who has no problem taking off his clothes in public.

"Are you forcing yourself to do this?" Gray-sama asks Juvia. "If you are, then maybe we should stop."

No, anything but stop. Juvia doesn't want to stop.

"Juvia can do this, Gray-sama. Juvia wants to do this. It's just Juvia doesn't have Gray-sama's confidence. Her body isn't perfect like Gray-sama's. And Juvia..."

Juvia finds that she can't speak anymore because she was silenced by Gray-sama and his wonderful lips and tongue. How does he do it? How does Gray-sama make Juvia forget all of her worries?

"Stop saying that." He tells Juvia. "I hate it when you bring yourself down. Your body is amazing."

Juvia can feel tears in her eyes. "Gray-sama."

Then he does something that still makes Juvia shiver. Gray-sama grabs Juvia's right breast.

Juvia can't help but moan. The last time that he did that was when Gray-sama and Juvia were fighting and that was an accident. In the time that we've been together, his fingers have skimmed across Juvia's breasts during the times Gray-sama and Juvia had made out. But he never grabbed them, not like he's doing now.

His fingers are like magic, gently massaging Juvia's breast. It's like he's done this before. Juvia still feels a bit embarrassed but she also feels so needy.

"You know that this is my favorite." Gray-sama says, squeezing Juvia's breast a bit firmer now. Juvia looks up to see that he's ... he's smirking.

"Gray-sama has a favorite?" Juvia asks, knowing that her voicing is shaky because of Gray-sama.

"All guys love their girlfriends' breasts. But each guy has a favorite. And this is my favorite." He keeps squeezing Juvia's right breast.

Juvia shivers under Gray-sama's touch. She can barely think straight. "Why is this breast Gray-sama's favorite?"

Juvia can feel Gray-sama's smirk grow wider. "You don't remember? When you and me fought, I froze you and accidentally grabbed you here."

Of course. Juvia could never forget. "Juvia remembers."

And just when Juvia thinks that it can't get any better, Gray-sama puts his mouth on Juvia's breasts.

Oh my god. Juvia cannot believe this. It feels so good. "Gray-sama." And now his hand is on Juvia's other breast, doing what he did before. "So good."

His mouth releases Juvia's breast. Then he blows on it. Juvia shivers. So good.

"Damn, Juvia. So good."

Gray-sama's fingers leave Juvia's breast, stroking the skin between Juvia's breasts. They stop in a spot under her breasts that Juvia knows so well. Gray-sama looks at Juvia with such serious eyes. Juvia understands. It's Juvia's scar that his fingers rest on.

Juvia remembers when this scar came to be. Dynos the Necromancer. Juvia will never forget that name as long as she lives. Juvia nearly sacrificed herself to save Gray-sama. She can't believe how selfish she was until afterwards. Juvia didn't think about he would feel if she did die for his sake. But not anymore. Juvia knows how much he hurt Gray-sama and she doesn't want to do that again. That's why Juvia will live for Gray-sama's sake.

"Juvia." He says. Juvia can tell that Gray-sama is serious.

"Juvia will never do that again. Juvia promises." She hopes that Gray-sama believes her. "She loves Gray-sama to much to make him worry like that."

"I love you too, Juvia." He kisses the scar. Once, twice, three times.

Gray-sama now looks Juvia in the eyes. "We don't have to go any farther today. We can stop now."

Gray-sama is always looking out for Juvia, always thinking about Juvia's needs. "Juvia wants to do this. Gray-sama wasn't Juvia's first kiss but at least he can be Juvia's first time."

"Juvia, I don't really care that I wasn't your first kiss, just as long as I'm the last person you kiss."

Oh, Gray-sama says the most romantic things.

"And I don't want you to feel forced to do this. If you don't feel comfortable about this, then we can stop."

Juvia can't help but feel happy when he said that. "There will never be a more perfect moment than now."

Gray-sama smiles. "Okay."

He crawls into bed and that's when Juvia realizes it. Gray-sama is naked... completely naked. And now Juvia can see Gray-sama's manhood.

Now Juvia has seen Gray-sama completely naked before, which mean that Juvia has seen... it. Everyone has. Gray-sama will sometimes find himself without any clothes, giving everyone a free view. (It still amazes Juvia that he can take off his clothes without him realizing it.) So Juvia had some expectations when she and Gray-sama finally got together. It seems (and Juvia can't believe that she's even thinking this) that _that_ was just the tip of the iceberg. Gray-sama is huge.

He lays down on the bed. "C'mere Juvia. Get on top of me."

Juvia doesn't understand. "Gray-sama."

Gray just smirks at Juvia. "It'll be better for both of us this way."

Juvia doesn't have any idea what he is talking about.

"Oh shit. I just remembered." Gray-sama shouted. "Grab my wallet from my pants."

Juvia doesn't understand what could be important in his wallet but Juvia does so. She gets Gray-sama's wallet and hands it to him. He pulls out a thin metallic package. Gray-sama rips it.

"A condom." Juvia asks.

Gray-sama looks away. "When Erza learned how Natsu and Lucy got together, she gave me these."

"How thoughtful." Okay. That sounded stupid as soon as Juvia said it. Actually what she should have told him was that Juvia is on the pill. Part of the life of a female mage and all.

Gray-sama snorts. "Thoughtful? If you think that's thoughtful, she then showed me how to put one on."

Juvia can't believe it. "She showed you? On your body?" If Erza did, Juvia will destroy her.

"No. She demonstrated on a banana." Gray-sama groans. "It was the most disturbing thing I have ever seen."

Juvia laughs. Whether or not he realizes it, Gray-sama is keeping things light. Juvia truly appreciates it.

Gray-sama was about to put the condom on him when...

"Juvia will put it on Gray-sama."

Juvia is so embarrassed.

"Are you sure?" Gray-sama seems confused.

"Juvia wants to help."

Gray-sama nods and hands her the condom. Juvia's hands are shaking. She's going to touch Gray-sama... there. Taking a deep breath, Juvia puts the condom on her beloved.

Juvia can feel Gray-sama in her hands. It's interesting. She feel it pulsing, strong and firm. She can't believe that this will be going inside her.

"Juvia... feels so good." Gray-sama groans. Juvia smiles, knowing that she is the one causing that reaction. Juvia continues to stroke Gray-sama until...

"Juvia." Gray-sama breathes. "Please..."

Juvia understands. She takes another deep breath and takes off her panties. It's time. It's finally going to happen. Gray-sama and Juvia are going to be one.

With Gray-sama beneath her, Juvia is ready.

"Are you sure, Juvia? Really sure? Because if for any reason you're not, we can stop." Gray-sama says to Juvia.

Gray-sama keeps asking Juvia if she is ready, if she wants this. At first, Juvia thought he was being considerate. But now, Juvia wonders if Gray-sama wants this.

"Does Gray-sama?" Juvia asks

"Huh?"

"Gray-sama keeps asking if Juvia wants this. So Juvia wants to know if Gray-sama wants this."

"What? Of course I want this. I want you More than anything." Gray-sama tells Juvia. "I just want to make sure that we are on the same page."

Juvia smiles. It's just like Gray-sama to be like that.

Now that Gray-sama and Juvia are on the same page, Juvia is ready. She lowers herself onto Gray-sama.

When the tip first touches Juvia down there, Juvia thought that it would be easy. But halfway through, Juvia felt it starting to hurt.

"Juvia, are you okay?" Gray-sama asks.

Juvia doesn't want to cause Gray-sama to worry. So she tries to keep her voice steady. "Juvia ... is ... okay."

Gray-sama puts his hands on Juvia's hips. And she feels it again. That cold coming from Gray-sama's hands. Juvia is about to ask whether he realizes that his magic is leaking when she sees it. Gray-sama is smirking. He's doing this on purpose.

"Gray-sama's hands... cold." She shivers.

"Really?" He drawls. "You mean this?"

Gray-sama's hands stroke Juvia's hips up and down. Juvia is so focused on Gray-sama's hands that she doesn't even realize that she is completely filled by him.

"So good." Gray-sama's voice sounds scratchy. "So tight. So wet."

Juvia would have made a comment that Juvia is water but her mind is muddled.

Juvia can feel her hips moving on her own now, like her body is on auto pilot. And Gray-sama's hips thrust up to meet Juvia's. Juvia has never felt so good. It's like all of her body is focused on her womanhood. Nothing else even registers.

Juvia feels so good. It feels so right. It's because it's with Gray-sama. Only Gray-sama could make Juvia feel this good. Juvia wants to feel like this forever, to feel Gray-sama's hands on her hips, to feel Gray-sama inside Juvia.

Juvia can hear him chanting Juvia's name as he thrust into Juvia. It's Juvia's name that he is saying. Juvia. No one else. And if Juvia has her way, no one else's name will ever be on his lips.

All too quickly, Juvia feels like she's falling. She knows that she's about to reach her peak. "Gray-sama."

"Almost there, Juvia." He grunts "Almost there."

It feels like Gray-sama and Juvia are of one mind. We are connected, both physically and emotionally. We are going to reach that peak together.

And then it happens. Gray-sama and Juvia reach that peak. Juvia's sight becomes blinded by many colors. Her lower body is singing Gray-sama's praises. Juvia has never felt this good in her life. And it's all because of Gray-sama.

Juvia feels completely drained. She collapses on top of Gray-sama. She is breathing heavy. But so is Gray-sama.

"That was amazing, Gray-sama." Juvia says, trying to catching her breath

"You were amazing, too." Gray-sama says, catching his breath as well.

Juvia lays down on Gray-sama's chest, hearing his heartbeat still beating fast.

"Juvia, get up for a second." Gray-sama whispers.

Juvia doesn't understand but she does so anyways. Gray-sama gets up a bit and removes the condom. Juvia blushes. It's the proof of what they've done.

He throws the used condom away.

"Isn't Gray-sama going to pick that up?" Juvia asks.

"Later. Come here. Let's lay back down." Gray-sama tells her.

Juvia doesn't need to be told twice. She lays down next to her beloved. Gray-sama pulls on his covers and wraps himself and Juvia in them.

"Love you, Juvia." He whispers.

"Juvia loves Gray-sama." She tells him.

Juvia can't help but fall asleep in Gray-sama's embrace.

* * *

"And that's what happened." Juvia says, as she finishes the story.

She can feel the heat in her face. Juvia looks at each of the girls. Each of them have at least a slight blush on their face, every one except Cana-san.

"Wow. That was amazing, Juvia." Cana-san laughs, looping an arm around Juvia. "So that's what he's like in bed."

Juvia can't help but blush. Cana-san is so blunt.

"Just one more thing? How big is he?" She asks, taking a swig from a flask. "Because I've seen him naked and I kinda want to know how big is he when he's fully hard."

Juvia's blush grows deeper.

"JUVIA." She hears a voice shouting from behind. Juvia cringes. She knows whose voice is that.

She turns around and sees Gray-sama looking horrified. "Gray-sama."

He runs towards Juvia. Juvia thinks Gray-sama is mad.

"Well look who it is? The super-stud." Cana-san laughs.

Gray-sama blushes.

"We were just hearing about your sex life." Cana-san says without tact as usual. "Who would have thought our adorable Gray would finally become a man? And what a man. You've completely satisfied Juvia."

Gray-sama's blush grows deeper.

"You've got any more stories about you and Juvia getting it on?" Cana-san says as she leans over towards Gray-sama.

"Why don't you stop trying to get sex stories out of us and go make one of your own?" He shoots back. "I mean when was the last time you were with a guy?"

Cana-san frowns. Gray-sama smirks victoriously at her. He then turns to Juvia.

"Come on, Juvia. Let's get going."

"Coming, Gray-sama." And Juvia gets up to go with him.

As we were walking down the streets of Magnolia, there is a tension in the air. Neither Gray-sama nor Juvia have said anything since we left the guild.

"Is Gray-sama mad at Juvia?" She asks.

Gray-sama looks softly at Juvia. "Nah, not really."

"But Juvia told everyone about their intimate details." Juvia protests.

"I kinda knew that everyone would eventually learn about what we did." Gray-sama shrugs. "There are no secrets like that in Fairy Tail. Although, I gotta admit that I thought that Cana would get one of us drunk first to get the story out of us."

Juvia blushes. "Sorry."

Gray-sama wraps his arm around Juvia's waist and pulls her in. "I said you don't have to worry about it. I still love you, Juvia."

"Juvia still loves Gray-sama, too."

Juvia has learned something about Gray-sama's love in the year that they have been dating. Gray-sama's love is like ice. It may be quiet but it's beautiful to see. It can be molded to whatever shape it needs to be. It's unique, just like no two snowflakes are the same. And when it melts, it turns into water, which gives life to all. However it takes a special kind of person to handle the ice. It can be cold. It can only form under certain conditions. But, most of all, it can break if not handled correctly.

Gray-sama's heart is made of ice. He has endured many tragedies in his life. And so, he erected walls in his heart so that he doesn't feel the pain. But each painful event in his life rips down those walls and hurts him deeply. It is only thanks to Fairy Tail that has not completely given up on making bonds with people. But Gray-sama keeps his nakama from melting his heart of ice. He keeps them at a certain distance, not letting them in to know of his past.

When Juvia first started dating Gray-sama, she thought that she would immediately melt his heart. She was wrong. Although Gray-sama loves Juvia, although Gray-sama trusts Juvia, Gray-sama's heart has yet to melt. Juvia understands why. Walls that take years to build also takes just as long to demolish. There are many things about Gray-sama's past that she doesn't know. But then again, there are things about Juvia's past that Gray-sama doesn't know.

Juvia hopes that one day, she can melt Gray-sama's heart of ice. Juvia is patient. It took a long time for Gray-sama to look Juvia's way. It took even longer for Gray-sama to say that he loved her. Still, she is realistic. If she can't, she hopes that Gray-sama trusts her with his heart. Juvia promises that she will not break it. She will treasure his heart and his love forever.

"What are you thinking about?" Gray-sama asks Juvia. There is a soft smile on his face.

"Juvia hopes that Gray-sama can one day trust her." She says without thinking. And yet, Juvia doesn't feel as embarrassed as she should be.

Gray-sama stops dead in his tracks. "I do trust you, Juvia." He says.

Juvia places her hand on his heart. "With this."

Gray-sama blushes. "I do."

Juvia gives Gray-sama a look.

Gray-sama blushes harder. "I mean, I am." He sighs. "It's still a little hard. I love you and I trust you. It's just there are things in my past that are still hard to say to anyone."

Juvia understands. It's not that Gray-sama doesn't trust Juvia. It's just that these things are still so painful to Gray-sama. It still cuts him deep. All Juvia can do is to continue to show Gray-sama that he can trust Juvia even with these things. And Juvia will learn to trust Gray-sama with the things that cut Juvia as well.

"Gray-sama shouldn't feel pressured into telling Juvia." Juvia tells him. "He can tell Juvia when he's ready. And Juvia promises to tell Gray-sama about everything her past when she's ready."

Gray draws Juvia into a hug. "Thank you, Juvia. For everything." He whispers.

Juvia feels so giddy hearing that.

Gray-sama and Juvia start heading off. Juvia is so happy for the chance to love him. She promises to keep his heart of ice safe. And she hopes to love him for a long time to come.

* * *

_Word Count: 7160_

**Chapter completed.**

**Again, this is longer than I had anticipated but whatever.**

**First off, I want to apologize for the tip of the iceberg thing. I couldn't help myself. It's so stupid. Actually, the whole lemon revolved around that idea.**

**Second, like the Nalu lemon, I wanted to do a perspective lemon. This poised many problems. This is a first person perspective lemon from a woman who speaks in the third person. It was hard both keeping her in character, making sure that you know it's her speaking, making it believable and relaying her internal monologue in the third person. This reminds me of chapter four and the struggle I had on that chapter.**

**Third, for those who are following the entire project, this takes place during the seventh chapter of the gale story. Just so there isn't any confusion.**

**Finally, like I said in the nalu lemon chapter, I would think that female mages would be on birth control pills just in case something happens and they get captured. I went into more detail there so if you really want to know, you can check there.**

**So, like it? Hate it? Have no opinion one way or the other? Leave me a review. I really like hearing from you all. Reviews make my day.**

**Here's the prompt for the next chapter.**

_Love rivals. Love rivals everywhere. Juvia knows that they all want Gray. But she doesn't want to share with anyone. Gray belonged to her and she'd destroy anyone who tries to take him away from her._

**This is an easy one. What's the J word here?**

**Alrighty then. Peace out.**

**A. Angel**


	10. J is for Jealousy

**Are your eyes deceiving you? Did I finally update? I did. I did update.  
**

**Sorry about the lateness of this chapter. I got hit with the flu and that killed the creative process. What normally would have taken me about three days to a week to do took two weeks to do. I was writing basically a couple of paragraphs a day. It was not fun being sick. I still am sick but I'm doing better now.  
**

**First off, a shout out to those who have read my other Gruvia one-shot: A Missed Connection. It made me happy reading the feedback from that story. Truly.  
**

**Now the reviews for this story.  
**

**counterfactuals, Ulcassi, dorac, PhoenixBear, It is true. I did have a hard time writing the first person / third person perspective. It was hard keeping her the narrator while she's recounting the events that lead up to the lemon. But I'm glad that you thought I did a good job. Means I didn't screw it up like I usually do.  
**

**Sarapyon, niners, If Cana didn't interfere, we wouldn't have this story. So be grateful.  
**

**thorn, when I think of opening words for a chapter, I try very hard to think of something that would fit for that chapter. I came across Mumford and Sons and thought that this was perfect for that chapter.  
**

**And for those who liked the description of Gray's heart, this is just how I picture him and his reluctance to get into a relationship with any girl, much less Juvia. But he's getting there, I hope.  
**

**So, without further ado, the points. Basically, everyone who gave a guess got it right. I mean seriously. How are you going to do a Gruvia fic without jealousy? Answer? You can't.  
**

**And now, our feature presentation.**

* * *

**J is for Jealousy**

There_ is no great love without great jealousy. ~Bender, Futurama - The Beast with a Billion Backs._

It was another fun-filled day in Fairy Tail, Mira thought to herself. The guild was being its wild and rambunctious self again, getting into fights, drinking heavily and basically having a good time. This is how life should be, one big party. Mirajane Strauss loved the atmosphere in Fairy Tail. Sure they are a rough and tumble bunch, but they were loyal to the last and truly one big family and family sticks together.

However, the barmaid didn't know that today would be a day that tests the boundaries of friendship and love.

The doors of the Fairy Tail guild slammed open, grabbing everyone's attention. Mira watched as a sour-faced Gray stomp into the guild, completely dressed no less. He took a chair at the far end of the guild, outside of his normal table. Sitting down, he fished around in his pockets and found a pack of cigarettes. The ice mage pulled one out and contemplated smoking it. Mira sighed. She thought Gray had kicked the habit.

Smoking, for Gray anyways, was a way to get release in the same way that fighting was to Natsu. He had first started the habit sometime after his seventeenth birthday. It was more of a phase than a habit for him, though. He thought it made him look cool. But just as quickly as he took up smoking, the ice mage quit (interestingly, it was a bit before he had met Juvia). For about a year, Gray would always carry a pack on him just in case he fell off the wagon. But he never took up another cigarette. Even after coming back after those seven lost years, Gray hadn't even touched his pack and contemplated throwing them out. When Gray and Juvia got together, Mira hadn't even seen the pack and thought that he got rid of it for Juvia's sake. (Juvia didn't like being around smokers when they were smoking. Being able to turn her body into water had its disadvantages, specifically absorbing the impurities in the water and air.) But here he was, twirling the cigarette around, as if he couldn't decide what to do with it.

The fact that Gray was even thinking about smoking meant that something major happened to him. Mira could only imagine what that was. She didn't have to wait long though.

Gray's team returned to Fairy Tail. Erza came in first. Mira looked for signs of discomfort on the red-headed woman's face but the knight's face was completely stoic. Natsu came in next. Shockingly, the Fire Dragon Slayer didn't have the usual motion sickness that often accompanied him on trips with vehicles. There was a lack of color on his face but compared to what he normally looked like, it was a great improvement. That was odd to Mira but she didn't think much of it. It was Lucy that drew Mira's attention. There was some scrapes and cuts on her face and arms but it was covered by some well placed bandages. The blonde had a bitter look on her face. The barmaid was a bit worried. What could cause her to have such a look? Happy was floating around her, asking if she was going to be okay. Lucy didn't respond.

Mira didn't know what had happened. She was thinking about the possibilities when she heard a thunderclap. The white haired woman looked outside the window and noticed that it was raining. Odd, she thought. It was sunny a minute ago. Mira knew that there was only one person who could control the weather like that.

Juvia walked through the doors, a morose look on her face. To Mira, it looked like the entire world crashed down on her. She was soaked from head to toe. Mira could only watch as Juvia walked over and sat listlessly at the bar. She put her head on the table and covered it with her arms.

Now the barmaid was concerned. She didn't like it when her nakama wasn't happy. So she resolved to do something about it. Mira started by going over to Juvia and put an orange, strawberry and banana smoothie in front of her.

Juvia lifted her head to see the glass in front of her. "Thank you, Mira-san." Juvia said listlessly.

Mira grew more worried. That was her favorite drink. Whenever she has one, her face lights up almost as brightly as seeing her boyfriend for the first time in the morning. Whatever is bothering the resident water mage was very serious.

Mira also noticed that she wasn't sitting next to Gray. Even before Gray and Juvia got together, she spent all of her free time either watching Gray from behind a pillar or, on her bolder days, sitting next to him. When they finally became a couple, the water mage never left his side. It was almost as if Juvia couldn't believe that she was finally dating the man that she loved. So she needed to be super close to him to believe that this is real. The fact that Juvia not being around Gray _by choice_ was such a big deal that everyone noticed it immediately.

"Juvia, what's wrong?" Mira asked.

Juvia sniffled. "It's all Juvia's fault." She whispered into her arms.

"What's all your fault, Juvia?" Mira asked softly.

Juvia didn't respond. Instead, she started crying. Outside, the weather corresponded to her tears and stormed violently. Mira's eyes widened. It must be very serious. The white haired woman realized that she wasn't going to get anything from Juvia right now. Perhaps she could get something from the others.

She prepared some foods that would make everyone talk: some fire chicken for Natsu, strawberry cake for Erza, grilled fish for Happy, some pocky for Lucy and a caramade frank for Gray. Mira figured that buttering the team up with food would get the information out of them.

Mira started with Gray, who was still contemplating having the cigarette in his hand. She placed the plate in front of him. The ice mage looked up to see a smiling face standing besides him.

"You looked hungry." Mira said.

"I'm not really hungry." Gray said.

Mira quirked an eyebrow. Gray refusing his favorite food was very unusual. Whatever happened on their mission must have been very serious.

"I thought you quit." Mira prodded, trying to get something out of the ice mage.

"I did." Gray responded. "At least I thought I did. I don't know. I think I need this after today."

"What happened today?" Mira asked. Now she was burning with curiosity.

"I don't want to talk about it." Gray mumbled. "Please leave me be."

Mira sighed. Clearly, he wasn't ready to talk about it right now. With Gray not talking, Mira headed to the rest of Gray's team. She was determined to get some information out of them.

Mira made her way towards the table where the rest of Gray's team were resting. Erza was quietly meditating. Natsu was still recovering from train ride. Happy was still fanning Natsu. But once again, it was Lucy that caught her attention. She was purposely trying to avoid eye contact. Her breathing was overly regulated, as if she was trying to avoid flying off the handle.

Mira handed Erza her plate of strawberry cake. "Here you go." She smiled.

Erza regarded Mira seriously. Weaker men would cower in fear when Erza gives them THE STARE. However, the woman who was known as the Demon was unperturbed.

"I know what you are trying to do, Mira." Erza said in a steely tone. "I'm not talking about the mission. It isn't my place to say."

"I'm only trying to help." Mira sighed.

Erza closed her eyes and exhaled a cleansing breath. "I know, Mira. But this is something that they are going to have to resolve themselves."

Mira looked dejectedly. "That bad?"

Erza took the plate of cake and got up from her chair. "I'm going to report to the Master and then head back home." The redhead woman said quite succinctly. "I know that telling not to get involved is impossible. So do what you need to do. I don't like seeing my nakama like this."

The barmaid nodded. Erza left everything in Mira's capable hands and went to find the Master.

If Erza was telling Mira to get involved, then it must be very serious.

Mira set a plate of fire chicken in front of Natsu. When the Fire Dragon Slayer took a look at the food, he looked like he was going to throw up. In fact, he did. Mira winced at the sound of the putrid liquid hitting the floor. Perhaps he wasn't over his motion sickness after all.

"Natsu threw up." Happy announced to everyone.

Okay. Natsu wasn't going to be of any help.

Mira turned her attention to Happy. The blue Exceed was always a source of gossip. Getting him to talk would be easy. The barmaid put the grilled fish on the table.

Happy, seeing his favorite food prepared for him, felt the tears of joy in his eyes. "Mira-san, you remembered my favorite food and my favorite way of preparing it." He squealed in joy.

Mira smiled. "Of course. I remember everything about my friends."

"Mira-san considers me a friend." Happy whimpered gleefully. "Thank you."

Happy happily chomped on the fish.

Mira sat down next to Happy. "So what happened on the mission?" She prodded.

"Well..." Happy began with his mouth full.

As he began, Happy felt an aura of oppression drown him. He stopped eating to stare in the direction of the aura and shuddered.

Mira turned towards where Happy was looking. Oddly enough, it was Lucy who was emanating it. Her facial expression hadn't changed in the slightest but there was a change in the air around the blonde. The barmaid was surprised. It was a very rare occasion when Lucy could make Happy feel fear.

"I shouldn't say anything." Happy mumbled. "Lucy might get mad at me."

Okay. Now this was serious.

She turned to Lucy. Her countenance was downcast.

"Lucy, what's wrong?" Mira asked in a concerned voice.

Lucy closed her eyes, as if she was trying to block out something painful. "Why don't you ask Juvia what happened?" It was odd. The Stellar Spirit mage's voice never had such bile and venom in it. Mira couldn't believe it. Lucy was kind to everyone in Fairy Tail. What could have changed in that one mission to cause her to have this attitude?

"Lucy..." Mira whispered.

Suddenly, a cut on Lucy's forehead opened.

Mira gasped. "Lucy, come to the bar."

The white haired woman didn't wait for an answer. Mira dragged Lucy over to the bar. And it was no coincidence that she had the blonde sitting next to Juvia while the barmaid tended to her cut.

As Lucy was sitting next to Juvia, the blonde aura felt like a pissed off cat, clawing and hissing at a rival cat. Juvia's aura was more withdrawn, shrinking in response towards Lucy's hostility. It was not good, Mira noted mentally. While Lucy and Juvia's friendship was never as strong as, say, Natsu and Gray's friendship, it was never this hostile.

Juvia turned to Lucy, as if to say something. But she closed her mouth just as quickly. The water mage put her head in her arms again.

Mira didn't like this oppressive aura. She knew that there was probably no delicate way of saying what she had to say, so she just plowed right ahead.

"Lucy, are you going to tell me what happened today?" Mira asked.

Lucy took a sidelong glance at Juvia. "I told you. You'd have to ask Juvia." She spat.

Juvia shrunk even more at Lucy's harsh words. 'It's all Juvia's fault." She mumbled into her hands.

"What is, Juvia?" Mira asked.

Juvia picked her head up and stared at Mira. "It went like this."

* * *

Gray and Juvia were walking side by side on the way to their destination. The water mage loved walking besides him as it allowed her to experience her beloved with all five senses. Breathing in his natural scent, Feeling the texture of his skin against hers, (especially since he has a habit of stripping), hearing his voice in her ears while he was engaging her in conversation, and seeing the magnificent radiance that is Gray-sama. Oh, and kissing him, lots of kissing her Gray-sama. Yes, her Gray-sama. After four months of dating, Juvia can call Gray hers.

Behind them were Lucy, who was currently trying to carry a green Natsu but was overwhelmed by his weight. Happy was flying circles around Natsu and Lucy. Erza was bringing up the rear, carrying her wagon behind her.

This was Juvia's first time taking a mission with Gray's team and she wanted to make a good impression with them. If she did a good enough job, then maybe they would invite her to join their team. Then she could go with her boyfriend's team on every mission so they didn't have to be apart at all. So Juvia resolved to do her best.

Their mission was simple. They needed to liberate the city of Lemuris from the Cardiarnon, anthropomorphic lizard men who have invaded the city. The only problem was their numbers, which ranged in the hundreds. It was the perfect job for Team Natsu as they had a habit of going overboard with their destruction.

Before they even reached Lemuris though, they were attacked by the Cardiarnon. The attack scattered them from each other.

As soon as Juvia was able to get her bearings after the initial attack, she found herself beset by a dozen of the lizard men. While they had numbers on their side, the water mage was much stronger. It didn't take much effort to defeat them. A well place Water Slicer made quick work of them.

After defeating the dozen lizard men, Juvia knew that the best thing to do was to try and find her teammates. After all, a united front is the best strategy in a situation like this. And so, the water mage set off to find her nakama.

Juvia entered the city of Lemuris and found bodies of defeated Cardiarnon all over the place. It seemed as though they were already through here. She searched high and low for any sign of the team. While she found defeated bodies, there was nothing that indicated their whereabouts.

Juvia was about to get frustrated when she saw a figure out in the distance. It was her beloved Gray-sama. He was standing on a hill and it looked like he was by himself. Juvia happily skipped towards him, climbing the slight incline to meet up with him. The closer she got to her boyfriend, the more in focus he became. And that's when she realized that Gray wasn't alone.

Juvia could easily make out the silhouette of the person standing next to her beloved. It was Lucy. From where she was standing, Juvia could see that Gray was holding onto Lucy's hand.

Now Juvia was a rational person most of the time. There were many logical, rational explanations as to why Gray was holding Lucy's hand. The water mage knew that. But in her mind, there was only one reason why. Lucy was trying to steal Gray from Juvia. Saying it didn't make her happy to see that was an understatement.

Juvia saw red. Her face contorted in anger. Without thinking, without hesitating, Juvia ran up the hill at full throttle, determined to show Lucy that Gray belonged to her and only her.

It happened in an instant. Neither Gray nor Lucy saw what happened until it did. Juvia pushed Lucy away from Gray. However, the water mage didn't realize how strong she had pushed the blonde. Juvia had pushed the Stellar Spirit mage so hard that Lucy had tumbled down the other side of the hill and hit a tree.

Lucy was cut up and scraped up by the tumble. She felt really woozy. But more importantly, she was confused as to why she was here. Wasn't she just on top of the hill? And that's when she felt a sense of dread. She looked around and saw that seven Cardiarnon were creeping up towards her. However, Lucy was too dazed to react. The Stellar Spirit mage started to panic and the panic did not help her react better. As the lizard men neared their approach, she prepared for the worst.

All of a sudden, the seven Cardiarnon were entombed in ice. When Lucy was lucid enough to recognize her surroundings, Gray was already next to her, giving her a hand. Lucy took it and righted herself, leaning against the tree for support.

Gray, after helping Lucy, turned around and looked at Juvia. It was a look that she would never forget. The look portrayed anger, shock, confusion, disdain and fury. Nearly every emotion was perfectly portrayed by that one look. Juvia couldn't look away at Gray's penetrating stare. It seared her very soul and not in a good way.

The rest of Gray's team came not long after that. They helped clean up Lucy while they avoided looking at Juvia. The water mage, in turn, stayed on the hill while they did so. She didn't move an inch from when she pushed Lucy down the hill in the first place.

When they were done, Natsu took Lucy and carried her on his back. Happy floated around Natsu and Lucy, checking to see if she was alright. Erza, this time, got took the front to protect her nakama.

Gray, however, made his way towards Juvia, who was still standing on that hill. To Juvia, it looked like the ice mage was taking his time. Each step felt so agonizing to the water mage and it made the knowledge that she royally screwed up all the more painful.

He finally was standing in front of her. Gray's face was stoic.

Juvia opened her mouth to say something but she closed it just as quickly. She had no idea what she could say to make this right.

"Let's go, Juvia." Gray's voice was very harsh, as cold as the magic he employed.

Juvia closed her eyes. "Gray-sama..." She whispered.

"Don't, Juvia." He cut her off right there. "Don't say a word right now because if you do, I might say something I'll regret. So don't."

Juvia obeyed. She felt tears sting her eyes but she didn't let them fall. She didn't have the right to cry.

Normally, the team would stay in town after a mission. However, Lucy's injury forced them to head back to Magnolia to make sure that it wasn't serious.

The trip back was excruciatingly silent. Lucy was sleeping on the train. Her arm had to be put on a sling just in case. Her head was resting against Natsu. The Dragon Slayer was so worried about his partner that he barely felt the motion sickness he normally experienced. Erza was examining Lucy to see if there were any injuries she missed. Gray was sitting next to Erza, not saying a word to anyone.

And Juvia? Juvia was sitting in another cart, avoiding everyone. She was thinking about how she screwed up her first mission with Gray's team and, quite possibly, her relationship with her boyfriend. Her jealousy had gotten the better of her. Who knows what was going to happen afterwards.

* * *

"And that's what happened." Juvia finished morosely.

Juvia shed more tears. She covered her face in shame.

Lucy, at seeing, Juvia crying, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She then turned to Mira.

"You know what my crime was, Mira?" Lucy spat, venom in her voice. "What I did to deserve Juvia's wrath? I just happened to let Gray pick me up off of the ground after I used up all of my magic."

To Juvia, Lucy's words felt like a dagger in her stomach. Each condemnation made Juvia's tears flow harder.

"Juvia is sorry, Lucy-san." She cried.

"I don't get you Juvia. You know I'm not even going after Gray." The blonde continued.

"Juvia knows." The blue haired woman whispered.

"You know?" Lucy fumed. "You know?"

"Juvia does know." The water mage sobbed. "Juvia knows in her heart that the women of Fairy Tail are happy that Gray-sama and Juvia are together. Juvia knows in her heart that none of them are trying to take Gray-sama away from Juvia."

"Then why Juvia?" The Stellar Spirit mage asked, her voice still having that edge on it.

"Because even though Juvia knows in her heart that Lucy-san and the other women aren't trying to take Gray-sama for themselves, Juvia's mind keeps whispering awful thoughts to her." Juvia whimpered. "It says things like 'Juvia, that girl is staring at Gray-sama for so long. She wants to take him away from Juvia.' Or 'Juvia, that girl is dressing provocatively. She's trying to get his attention.'"

Lucy's hard gaze softened with Juvia's words. "Juvia." Lucy whispered.

Mira spoke up for the first time after "You know that Gray is a faithful guy." She told Juvia.

"Juvia knows." She murmured. "But she can't help it. Gray-sama is so wonderful, so perfect. Who wouldn't want to be Gray-sama's girlfriend. Juvia has only known Gray-sama for about a year and a half. But there are people that have known Gray-sama longer than Juvia and there are some who know him better than Juvia. How can Juvia compare with that?"

Lucy started feeling bad for Juvia. She had no idea the thoughts that ran through the water mage's mind. She put a comforting hand on Juvia's shoulder. Lucy's anger was being washed away with Juvia's self-loathing. "Mira's right, Juvia. He wouldn't leave you like that."

"Why not?" Juvia sighed. "Everyone has left Juvia. Juvia's parents left her in an orphanage. Juvia didn't have any friends growing up because she brought the rain that brings everyone down. Juvia's first boyfriend left her because he couldn't stand being in the rain anymore. Phantom Lord took Juvia in but they didn't want to be her friend. They just wanted her power."

Lucy's anger started dissipating as she listened to Juvia's heart wrenching story. The pain that she felt was now less than a dull ache. The blonde just listened as Juvia poured out her heart.

"But then Juvia met Gray-sama." She continued. "It was because of him that Juvia finally saw the clear blue sky for the first time. It was because she saw the power that one gets by fighting for nakama instead of fighting for oneself. And then Juvia joined Fairy Tail. For the first time in her life, Juvia felt happy. And then finally, Gray-sama asked Juvia to be his girlfriend. Juvia felt so wonderful. But now she's ruined it. Gray-sama would not want to be with Juvia after today. Juvia ruined the best thing in her life because of her jealousy."

Juvia cried even harder, despite Lucy and Mira's comforting words.

"Juvia." A voice called out to her.

Juvia turned around to see that Gray was standing behind her. She was so shocked that her tears stopped flowing. She never expected that Gray would seek her out after her display today.

"Gray-sama." Juvia was so surprised that her voiced barely eked out. Had he heard everything, she wondered.

"Listen to me, Juvia." Gray began. "If this relationship is going to work, you are going to have to trust me. Do you trust me?"

Juvia nodded. "Juvia trusts Gray-sama completely." That was the truth. She trusted Gray-sama over anyone and everyone, including herself.

"Have I given you a reason to doubt my word?" He asked.

"No." She replied. "Gray-sama is a man of his word."

"Then believe me when I tell you that you are the only girl that I am dating." He told her.

"Juvia knows." She whispered. "But the other girls..." Juvia tried to protest.

Gray put up a finger to silence Juvia. "You said that some girls have known me longer and some know me better. Who cares? I don't. At the end of the day, I chose you over all those girls."

That simple statement resonated quite powerfully with Juvia. Of all the girls that Gray-sama could be with (and there were a lot, in Juvia's mind), he chose Juvia. That made all the difference.

Juvia smiled for the first time since that fateful mission. It wasn't a big smile that usually accompanies her whenever she is with Gray. Rather, it's a miniscule one, one that comes when she heard that reaffirmation of her status as Gray's girlfriend.

Gray's face became serious. "But Juvia, the jealousy thing isn't going to work." He said to her. "Lucy got hurt because of you. Even though she's fine now, it could have been much worse."

The miniscule smile on Juvia's face dropped as soon as Gray's words reached her ears. She closed her eyes in remorse.

"Juvia is sorry." She apologized.

"I'm not the one who you should be apologizing to." Gray told his girlfriend.

Juvia turned to Lucy. "Juvia is sorry that she hurt Lucy-san." She apologized to the blonde mage. "She feels so bad that Lucy-san got hurt because of Juvia and hopes to make it up to her.

Lucy just nodded. She didn't say it was okay because she wasn't okay. At the very least, the Stellar Spirit mage didn't throw Juvia's apology in her face.

Juvia turned back to Gray. "Juvia is really sorry about her jealousy. But she can't help it. She doesn't think that she can let go of her jealousy."

Gray frowned at Juvia's honesty. That was not what he wanted to hear. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Then I guess there's only one thing to do."

Juvia's eyes widened. So he _was_ going to dump her because of her unsightly behavior.

Juvia's wasn't the only eyes that were bulging with Gray's words. Mira and Lucy couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"You wouldn't, Gray." Mira whispered, her hand balled into a fist. "Not after all that she's been through."

All of a sudden, Juvia felt herself being lifted off of the barstool. Before she even realized it, Gray was carrying her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"I guess I'm going to have to remind you that I chose you until you get it stuck in your head." Gray told her.

Juvia couldn't believe what Gray was doing. "What is Gray-sama doing? Juvia is so embarrassed." She shrieked.

"Too bad. This is your punishment." Gray countered.

He turned to Lucy. "Lucy, I'm sorry about today. I know you're angry now and you have every right to be, but please, if not today, could you eventually forgive Juvia?"

Lucy gave Gray a nod, telling him that she would eventually forgive his girlfriend.

Gray turned to Mira and put something on the counter. "I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for everything."

The white-haired woman smiled, happy to see her friends back on track. "Okay. Good night, Gray." Said the barmaid.

Gray headed for the door, despite Juvia's protests to put her down, and walked out of the guild with his girlfriend on his shoulder.

With the couple gone, Mira turned to Lucy.

"Lucy..." The barmaid began.

"I know what you are going to say, Mira-san." Lucy stopped the white-haired woman before she could speak. "I am going to go home, take a nice long bath and go to bed early. By tomorrow, I'll feel much better and then I can accept Juvia's apology and actually mean it." Lucy smiled.

Mira smiled back. "That's all I ask. Thank you for being understanding."

The blonde looked away, a wistful smile on her face. "I think I understand Juvia." She admitted. "If I was in a relationship with a guy, I wouldn't want that guy looking at other women either."

Mira tactfully avoided her usual teasing of Lucy and Natsu being a couple. Instead, she smiled at the blonde.

The Stellar Spirit mage, now, was a bit curious as to what Gray had left on the counter. She looked to where the ice mage had placed it and saw that it was...

"Cigarettes?" Lucy queried. "I didn't know that Gray smoked."

"He used to." Mira chuckled. "About a year before you joined, Gray started smoking. He said it made him look cool. But he quit about the time that you guys went to Galuna Island."

"Then why does he have a pack on him?" Lucy asked.

"I guess just in case he fell off the wagon." Mira shrugged. Then a smile crept up her face. "But I don't think that he's going to need them anymore.

* * *

Gray and Juvia were hanging out in his apartment. The couple were sitting on his couch. Gray was sitting on one end while Juvia was laying against him. They were catching their breaths after a very hot and passionate makeout session.

Juvia felt on top of the world. She had been so worried that Gray wouldn't want to be with her after what she did. But now, that doubt had flown clear from her mind.

She turned around as much as her body would let her to stare at Gray's onyx eyes. "Juvia is really sorry about today." She apologized again. "She really wanted to make a good impression on Gray-sama's team. But Juvia screwed it up."

"I am pretty sure that they won't hold it against you." Gray told her. "They aren't like that. And Lucy will forgive you in time. She's just that kind of person."

Juvia bowed her head. "Juvia promises that from now on, she will not be jealous anymore, just like Gray-sama isn't jealous."

The ice mage groand internally. Why did she have to say something like that? Because, you see, what Juvia didn't know and the secret that he would take to his grave is that Gray actually got jealous of the attention his girlfriend received from other men.

There is a diffence between the two. Juvia's jealousy was directed at the girls in Fairy Tail. Gray's jealousy was different. Unlike Juvia, Gray's jealousy was never directed at his nakama. The other guys may flirt with Juvia, tell a raunchy joke every now and again. But they both knew and respected the fact that Juvia was his.

No! It was the other guys who was on the receiving end. Whenever they were on a date together and guys were looking just a bit too long at Juvia in his opinion, Gray would always pull her closer to him to let them know that she was his. Then he would give those guys the most intimidating look he could pull off, a look that basically told them to fuck off or else he'd crush them. The ice mage always thought that jealousy was a Juvia thing. He would have never thought that he could be possessive of a person. But he'd be wrong.

When Sorcerer's Weekly did a photoshoot of the women in Fairy Tail about a month ago, Gray was against Juvia doing the shoot. He didn't want other guys getting ideas about her. But when the water mage asked him if it was okay for her to do the shoot, Gray let her. He didn't want his jealousy to interfere with Juvia's desires to be a cover girl. So he let his girlfriend do the magazine shoot.

And he had to admit, Juvia looked good in the gravure. The magazine had did a very good job potraying Juvia's beauty. They gave her a water theme, naturally, and that meant that she posed in a bikini. And while she looked, in his words, so fucking hawt (notice the obvious mispelling) in the shoot, Juvia's picture could now be ogled by anonymous men whenever they felt like they needed a cheap thrill. That did not make Gray happy. But he could have lived with it if not for one thing.

Oh, there was one more difference between Juvia and Gray's jealousy. Juvia's jealousy ran hot and cold. Except for today, her usual method for dealing with rivals was snappish threats and the occasional prank. She was harmless, more or less. Gray's jealousy was much more vicious and calculating. His usual method for dealing with rivals was violence.

Sometimes, he would see a guy ogling Juvia's gravure while they were on a date. Gray would mark that man mentally so that when their date ended, the ice mage would beat that guy into the ground. An errant comment by some guy about how wet Juvia could be in bed would make the black haired man furious. That guy was crushed as well.

Gray's violent jealous was also directed at the people in Juvia's life before him. When he had learned that Bora had taken Juvia's first kiss and had been her boyfriend before him, Gray had sought out the false Salamander. Bora never saw it coming but, in an instant, every bone in his body was broken by the Fairy Tail mage. Then there was that guy who dated Juvia before him who wanted to have sex with her. Gray made sure to give that guy frostbite in a very sensitive place for a man. In fact, every person who had ever hurt Juvia in her life, the ice mage sought out and destroyed.

Probably the only person who could make lewd comments and get away with it was Lyon. That was only by virtue of the fact that it was because of him that Gray and Juvia had gotten together in the first place. That, and the fact that Lyon wasn't after Juvia anymore. (And also, the fact that unlike many of the other guys who lusted after his girlfriend, Lyon could actually put up a fight.)

The point is that Gray understood Juvia's jealousy. He understood it really well.

Gray stroked Juvia's arm. "How about this, Juvia." Gray told her. "Whenever you are feeling jealous, come to me and I'll remind you that you're my girl."

Juvia turned around. "And how will Gray-sama do that?" She asked innocently.

Gray smirked and kissed Juvia deeply. Juvia was so shocked that for a moment, she didn't even respond back. But the water mage recovered and kissed her boyfriend back.

Gray pulled away, leaning his forehead against hers. "You get it now?" He asked breathlessly.

Juvia gave Gray a mischevious smirk. "Juvia doens't know. She thinks she needs another reminder."

Gray smirked back and thoroughly reminded Juvia all throughout the night that she was unequivocally his.

* * *

_Word Count: 5784_

**Done and done.**

**Let's get this out of the way first. I don't want you thinking that Lucy is a mean person to Juvia. Come on, if you were hurt by a friend that you trusted, you'd be mad for a while too.**

**I've always wondered why Juvia is both obsessive and overly jealous of anyone who hangs out with Gray. And it seems to me that it's not only because she loves him. It would have to be that Juvia's' life was filled with disappointment until her fight with Gray. Gray, to Juvia, represents the event when she changed for the better. Losing him would be a devastating blow to Juvia. Eventually, I would think that her jealousy would have to come to a point where she does something like this to hurt someone in the guild. So that's the inspiration for this story.**

**As for the smoking thing, if you look back at the manga in the beginning, Gray did smoke. There were two panels showing him smoking, one, I think, during his introduction in the story and the other before he heads to Galuna Island. So if Mashima had Gray smoking at the beginning, it begs the question why he doesn't anymore. Perhaps the simple answer is that he didn't want impressionable children getting the idea to smoke from Gray. If that's the case, why is Wakaba's magic based around smoke? I don't know. Maybe I'm overthinking things. I tend to do that.**

**Anyways, liked it? Hated it? Have no opinion one way or the other? Leave me a review. Love to hear from you.**

**Here's the prompt for the next chapter.**

_During he and Juvia first got together, Gray had no idea how he was to act, what he was suppose to say, what he was suppose to do. So when everything goes wrong on their date, Gray did something for Juvia that showed how much he cared._

**Now the K word is going to be hard because I don't think I described it well in the prompt. Well, good luck anyways.**

**If you are looking for another Gruvia fic after you're done with this, might I suggest A Missed Connection? You might like it? You might not. Who knows.**

**Still recovering from the flu,**

**A. Angel**


	11. K is for Kindness

**Yep, I'm back again and about time too. And this time, I'm in the mood. Well, sorry about the DK rap, couldn't help it.  
**

**Anyways, the next installment of Gruvia is here. Before I get to the reviews of the last chapter, I want to thank all of you who reviewed "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." To see the people who liked Uriel made me happy. I might just write another Uriel story... if I can find the time and the right idea. Anyways, to the reviews.  
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**niners, first you must be pretty happy with your team going to the conference championship. Second, I know the Mashima's Rave Master references in Fairy Tail and how Gray and Musica are similar. But still, he starts smoking and then he stops. That just strikes me as weird. And yes, I know that in fanfics it is usually the guy who messes up in the relationship. What some authors fail to realize is that relationships are a two-way street. Everyone screws up sometimes. Don't worry. I know exactly where Gray is going to screw up in this series.**

**thorn, congrats on your new status as a Gruvia shipper. We have cake and punch. It's quite awesome really. As for Bora being Juvia's first kiss, it doesn't say. However, think about this. Remember that Juvia was a very lonely girl growing up. She would have been desperate for affection. That's the only reason why I can see Juvia dating someone like Bora. And she would have done most anything to make Bora happy. So Bora being Juvia's first kiss isn't out of the realm of possibility. Just some food for thought.  
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**Missmonsterite, Gray IS dealing with his jealousy. He's just using violence.  
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**niners, thorn, catwho, andysteve, and lurv, I'm glad you didn't hold Lucy's anger against her. I was slightly worried about writing it. Good to see that you understand.  
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**And to everyone else who I didn't mention, thanks for reviewing. Seeing those messages in my email makes me happy like Flynn eating a sandwich.  
**

**To those who don't know yet, I have some good news to announce. ****About three months ago, a couple of buddies from work and I decided to make a video game and see if we can't get someone to publish it. So we set up a rough draft of characters, drawings, plot lines and all that jazz. Afterwards, we sent it to a bunch of companies to see if they would take it on. A week ago, we got a message from a major game producer saying that they liked the concept and want to see more. They told us to make a presentation of gameplay and stuff. Needless to say I was fucking stoked. Now we are in the process of building the game. The producers have given us four months to make a three hour demo.  
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**That means I will be focusing on the game project more than I will this. I'll still post chapters here and there but it won't be with any regular speed or schedule. So I hope you understand. And if you want to know more about the game project, ask me in a review and I'll get back to you.  
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**Finally some points. Kretzuu, catwho, danteewin, Katy-Joanne, luvr, yosuaferiwijaya get five points for getting the answer right.  
**

**And now, our feature presentation**

* * *

**K is for Kindness**

_Love is patient; love is kind. ~ 1st Corinthians 13:4a _

Juvia was over the moon today. Today is a special day. Why, you may ask? Well, before I tell you, allow me to set the scene.

Grand Magic Games, two weeks ago. It was two weeks ago that Gray Fullbuster told Lyon Vastia, in no uncertain terms, that Juvia Lockser belonged to him. When Juvia heard those words, she nearly melted into a puddle. Sure, it may not have been the confession that she imagined in her head (you know, flowers, chocolates, and promising her to marry her) but it did the job. After the fight (which Gray won), he took her out to eat and asked her to be his girlfriend. Of course she said yes.

After the Games (which was a hectic mess thanks to Sabertooth and the Eclipse plan), Fairy Tail, a bit roughed up but alive, returned home. That is when Gray told Juvia that he'd take her on a date in two weeks once everything had settled down.

Now we are back to the present.

For their first date, Juvia had asked Gray if they could walk through the park together. Gray was confused as to why she would want to go to the park but if this is what she wanted to do on their first date, who was he to say anything? Juvia, in the meanwhile, thought that Gray was very kind for agreeing with her idea. Of course, she would have gone anywhere Gray wanted to go on a date. But the fact that he let her choose... that was so nice of him.

The weather couldn't have been better. The sun was shining, the air was crisp, and there enough clouds to make the day feel picturesque.

Gray and Juvia were walking side by side, enjoying the day. Well, Juvia was enjoying the day. Being with Gray in such a romantic setting... it took all of her willpower not to faint. Juvia had never felt so happy.

Juvia turned to Gray. She expected him to be just as happy. However, the look on his face wasn't one of happiness. It was more akin to someone deep in thought. It didn't make sense to her. Didn't the ice mage want to be with her?

"Gray-sama?" Juvia whispered. "What's wrong?"

Gray blushed, which Juvia thought was very unlike him. "I just don't know what to do." He admitted.

Juvia looked at the ice mage curiously. "Hasn't Gray-sama been out on a date before?"

Gray blushed harder. He shook his head. "Not really."

Juvia's eyes widened. "Ever?"

Gray looked like he wanted to sink into the earth. So he had never been on a date before. So what? Lots of people in Fairy Tail had never been out on dates. Is Juvia judging him?

Juvia, unaware of Gray's inner monologue, grabbed the ice mage's hand. "So this is Gray-sama's first date?"

The ice mage scratched his cheek with his free hand. "I guess."

"And does this mean that Juvia is Gray-sama's first girlfriend?" She asked, a little hopeful.

Gray's face was tinged and closed his eyes. "Fine. I admit it." He yelled crossly. "You're my first girlfriend. And just in case you were wondering, I'm also a virgin. You happy?"

When he blurted out those words, Gray opened his eyes and realized that many people were staring. Gray blushed harder.

Juvia couldn't believe it. She was the first. **THE FIRST**. "Juvia would have thought that Gray-sama would have had many girlfriends before her." She admitted.

The ice mage shrugged his shoulders. "Why would you think that?"

Now it was Juvia's turn to blush. "Gray-sama is really attractive." She admitted in a small voice. "Juvia figured that... that..." She couldn't finish her thought.

Thankfully for her, Gray picked up on what Juvia was trying to say. "Dating really hasn't been important to me."

It was the truth. Before Juvia came into his life, Gray had never thought about having a girlfriend. It wasn't as though he was stunted when it came to the female specimen. He found some women attractive. But he pursued none of them.

Part of it was his need to compete with Natsu. He needed to defeat the Fire Dragon Slayer in everything and anything that would distract him from this competition wasn't good.

But the main reason was because of his past. Losing both of his parents and Ur so early in his life made very hesitant about letting people get that close to him. He didn't want to experience that heartbreak ever again. And so he closed himself off from that kind of intimacy.

However, during the Galuna Island mission, Gray got the closure he needed. By watching Deliora being destroyed by Ur's Iced Shell, the burden that he felt melted along with the ice. After that moment, he was free. He was free from his burden and free to love again.

(What Juvia will not realize until much later in their relationship is that she came into Gray's life at the perfect time. If she came any earlier, Gray probably would have thought of Juvia more like family rather than an available woman. If she had come any later, Juvia may not have had the chance to seek out Gray as he would have been in a relationship already.)

So Gray was new to this dating scene compared to Juvia who has had a couple of dates.

"So what do we do on a date?" The ice mage asked Juvia.

"Gray-sama and Juvia can walk around and enjoy each other's company." She told her new boyfriend.

Gray gave Juvia an inquisitive look. "That's it?" He asked. He really didn't understand. "I thought girls wanted more on a first date."

Juvia looked confused. "What does Gray-sama mean?"

"You know, candlelight dinners, walk under the stars, you know, all of that romantic stuff." Gray told her.

Juvia shook her head. "As long as Juvia is with Gray-sama, she is happy."

Gray shrugged and they walked through the park

Juvia was wondering how she could make this walk a little more intimate. An idea came to her head. She hesitantly took the ice mage's hand. The blue haired woman was a bit unsure about this move. She thought it was too bold. However, when Gray tentatively interlocked his fingers with hers, Juvia felt so happy. (And Gray wouldn't admit to her but when he did that, it made him happy too.)

The two walked around the park for ten minutes, hand in hand. Juvia wanted this moment to last. However, fate was not so kind.

Juvia could smell it in the air, the smell of saltwater and humidity. This scent always heralded that it was about to rain. The blue haired woman couldn't believe it. Here she was finally enjoying a date with the man she has loved for the longest time and now it was going to rain.

The water mage tried to will the rain away. However, Juvia knew that it was impossible. It was going to rain and there was nothing she could do to stop it. The first drops of rain fell from the sky.

Gray felt the rain on his skin. "Oh, it's raining." He said nonchalantly. He wasn't really bothered by the precipitation.

Juvia, however, was beside herself. With the coming downpour came the memories.

_I hope Juvia-chan doesn't come. It always rains when she's around._

_Aww man, it's raining. When it rains, I feel so depressed._

_It's always raining. We can't go camping or fishing. We should just break up._

Those voices again, the ones that have plagued for the longest time. Juvia thought that she had moved passed that. And yet, here they are again, reminding her that she wasn't a normal girl. She was the Ameonna and no one liked the rain that she brought.

Gray noticed the change in mood. He turned around and noticed that Juvia was oddly quiet. Her face was in a frown.

"Juvia, what's wrong?" He asked, concerned about the woman next to him.

Juvia disentangled her fingers from Gray and ran.

"Juvia!" Gray shouted at the retreating form of the blue haired woman. But she was gone.

Gray gave chase. Though he had a good head start, the ice mage had known Juvia for almost two years. That gave him a good idea of where she would go. And logically, the first place he went to look for Juvia was at Fairy Tail.

* * *

When he walked into the guild, Gray was immediately greeted by a sword in his face. His onyx eyes widened.

"Erza?" He screeched. His brain couldn't comprehend what had just happened. One moment he was about to walk into the guild. The next, a sword was dangerously close to gouging his eye.

"What did you do to Juvia, you bastard?" The Knight growled.

Gray held up his hands in surrender. "Nothing." He quickly shouted. He knew if he wasn't forthcoming with his answers, Erza just might skin him alive.

"If you did nothing, then why is Juvia crying?" Erza grounded out as she repositioned her sword to a more sensitive area.

"I don't know." Gray said honestly, sweating bullets. "We were out on our date, we held hands, then it started to rain..." He tapered off from there.

The wheels in Gray's mind started turning. That's right, he thought. It was only after it started raining that Juvia's demeanor started to change.

"Erza, I'm going to talk to Juvia." Gray told the Knight.

"And why should I let you?" Erza asked, a slight edge still in her voice. "You'll probably make Juvia cry again."

"If I don't, how can I fix it?" Gray answered back.

Erza thought for a moment. Then she relinquished her sword, allowing it to disappear into the ether. "Fine. But if you make Juvia cry again, I will take the very thing that makes you a man away from you."

Gray reflexively put his hands over his crotch. Taking a deep breath, he walked into the guild proper. There, he saw Juvia in the very back corner with her head on the table, nestled on top of her arms. He walked over to her.

"What happened?" Gray asked. "What did I do? "

Juvia looked up and saw the brilliant visage of Gray Fullbuster. Some time after she had ran from him, the ice mage had lost his shirt. But that only enhanced his awesomeness in the water mage's opinion.

But even with this sight, Juvia was sad. Her first date with Gray, **THE FIRST DATE WITH THE MAN OF HER DREAMS**, was ruined because of the rain.

"Gray-sama and Juvia's date was ruined." She mumbled.

Gray was confused. "Was it something I did?" He asked. He had no idea how these date things were supposed to go and so he thought that he did something that he wasn't supposed to do or didn't do something that he was suppose to do.

Juvia shook her head. "Gray-sama was perfect, as always." She said, a somewhat spiteful tone seeping from her lips.

Gray was confused... not by the perfection thing. He wasn't put off by Juvia putting him on a pedestal, well not anymore at least. No, what confused him was the fact that he didn't know why she was like this. No, that wasn't right. He had an idea. But the ice mage needed Juvia to tell him what is wrong.

"Juvia, what's wrong?" He asked. "Why is our date ruined?"

Juvia looked at him like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Because of the rain."

Gray sighed. He figured it was because the rain. When they first met under these rainy skies, Juvia was a mess. Though he hadn't known her for long, when she told him that she had never seen the blue sky in her life, the ice mage was surprised. How could anyone not have seen the sun for almost two decades? Gray realized, at that point, that Juvia must have grown up with the rain. How depressing that must have been, to never have sunlight on your face? He never knew how much this had affected Juvia up until this moment. Perhaps there was a way to fix this.

"What about the rain?" He asked, hopefully trying to coax some information from her.

"Juvia's dates are always ruined." She cried. "Because Juvia brings the rain and the rains brings everyone down."

Gray took a seat next to Juvia. "Juvia, I'm not blaming you for the rain." He sighed. "And just because it's raining doesn't mean that our date is ruined."

"But Gray-sama and Juvia can't do anything in the rain." Juvia said.

"Yes, we can." Gray insisted.

"Gray-sama can't stop the rain." Juvia whimpered. "It's all Juvia's fault."

"I'm not trying to stop the rain." Gray sighed. He wasn't liking the fact that Juvia was putting herself down. "I'm trying to enjoy our date."

"Juvia didn't want it to rain on their date." She cried.

"Stop doing that." Gray told her, starting to get irritated.

"Juva is so sorry." She apologized. "She can't help being an Ameonna."

"Stop apologizing." Gray growled. "I said I wasn't blaming you."

Juvia didn't hear him. "Why does the rain always ruin everything that Juvia has ever wanted?" She sobbed as tears fell from her eyes. "All she wanted was one date that isn't ruined."

Gray slammed his hands on the table, grabbing hers and everyone else's attention. "I said stop that." The ice mage shouted. "Stop putting yourself down."

Juvia stopped crying immediately.

"I never blamed you for the weather." Gray told Juvia in a loud voice. "And I don't care about the rain. I don't see you as an Ameonna. You are Juvia Lockser, plain and simple."

Juvia's eyes widened. "Gray-sama." She had always been the Ameonna. It always rained on her parade. But Gray didn't see her that way.

The words came out of Gray's mouth before he could think about it. "And if the rain bothers you that much, then I promise to find some way to change your mind about the rain." Gray told her.

If it were physically possible, Juvia's eyes would have popped out of her head.

Gray's brain finally caught up with his brain. Did he really just say that?

Gray Fullbuster is a man of his word. If he promises something, then he'll do everything in his power to fulfill it. He doesn't make promises easily and he doesn't throw promises away. So now that he said he'd change Juvia's opinion about the rain, Gray was obligated to keep his promise. The challenge now was how he was going to do that.

"Gray-sama doesn't know what he's saying." Juvia told him morosely. "Juvia thinks that Gray-sama is kind but there is no way that even he can make the rain better for Juvia."

Gray heard Juvia's words. Logically, he should have seen this as a statement to the emotional symbol that the rain was to Juvia. How could anyone change her feelings about the rain that had instilled eighteen years of depression in her? But there was a very competitive side to him. And that was the side that heard those words. It was a throwdown. Gray was being called out. And he answered.

The ice mage grabbed Juvia's wrists. "Challenge accepted." He told her as he roughly lifted her to her feet.

Juvia gasped as she was picked up from her seat. "Gray-sama." She gasped.

Gray dragged Juvia towards the door. (It wasn't like she was unwilling, mind you.)

"Gray-sama." Juvia called out to the ice mage. "What is Gray-sama doing?"

"Our date isn't finished." The black haired man said.

"But the rain..." She reminded him.

Using his ice magic, Gray created an umbrella large enough to cover the two of them from the rain. Juvia was surprised at Gray's creativity.

"Now we can go back on our date." Gray told her. "We'll finish our walk to the park and then grab a bite to eat. That's cool with you?" He asked.

Juvia nodded eagerly. "Such kindness Gray-sama's showing Juvia." She whispered in awe.

Gray blushed and looked away. "It's not that." He mumbled. "I'd rather have you happy than crying."

Juvia couldn't believe her good fortune to have such a man as a boyfriend, thinking about her needs like that.

"And if the rain still bothers you" Gray told the water mage, "then we'll go out on dates when it's raining, do missions when it's raining and everything else couples do while it rains. I said that I'd change your mind about the rain and it's a promise that I'll keep."

Juvia smiled brightly, causing the heavy rain to be a light drizzle. All of her life, the rain had been an impediment. The rain prevented her from making friends, it drove men away from her and made people so depressed. And then Gray came along and took it away. Now, he not only accepted the fact that she brings the rain from time to time, he's now offering to join her in the rain. Such altruism touched her very being. It made her glad that her heart chose Gray Fullbuster over any other man.

In Gray's mind, he was thinking about the daunting task ahead of him. Sure he liked Juvia. It's why he asked her to be his girlfriend. And he'd rather have her happy than her being sad. But to change her mind about the one thing that has caused her grief for almost two decades... it was a tall order. But now that he made that promise, he had to keep it.

Gray and Juvia continued their date, walking through the park in the rain. They enjoyed the splendor of sights, scents and sounds that the weather provided them. All in all, it was a very good first date for both of them.

Gray didn't know it now but in the coming years, he would fulfill the promise he made to Juvia. When it rained, he would seek out Juvia. At first, it was because of the oath that he swore. But soon afterwards, it would become second nature. Looking back, nearly every significant event in their lives happened under the rain. The simple kindness that Gray showed on that first date soon turned to a deep burgeoning love that united ice and water under the same rainy sky.

* * *

_Word Count: 3,208_

**This is a quick chapter. Quick chapters means faster updates and vice versa.**

**I wanted to explore the idea of Juvia and her feelings about the rain. I did that a bit with Depression and again with this. I know that I'll be exploring it a bit more in the next chapter and two other chapters as well.**

**If you are asking about Gray and his "experience" with dating and women, I can't imagine that he had been out on a date with anyone (maybe Cana and I stress the word maybe here. I mean that's probably the only reason why he says he has a good relationship with her in the Sorcerer's Weekly interview. Because other than that, there is no hint as to what Gray and Cana's relationship is in the main series and seeing how he gets all flustered at anything sexual leads me to believe that he's a virgin too. (Weird considering that he strips everyday.) He might have kissed a girl in the guild, most likely on a dare or a drunken escapade but that's it. In fact, many of the prominent members with the exception of Loke, Cana, Juvia, Mira and maybe Erza, I don't think any of them have ever been out on a date.**

**As for the date itself, this was actually based off of my first date with my first girlfriend almost 12 years ago, minus the outburst. (I went to an all boys school in high school so finding a girl to go out with was kinda hard.)**

**Anyways, loved it? Hated it? Have no opinion one way or the other? Leave me a review. I'd love to hear from you.**

**Here's the prompt for the next chapter.**

_When Juvia heard that particular song on the radio, it made her chuckle. It was exactly how her first kiss with Gray went. How they were strolling along a country road after a mission and it started to rain. Finding shelter under a tree, Juvia turned to Gray and he kissed her. Oh the memories flowed with this song._

**This one is probably very difficult as it isn't what you think it is. I'll give you another hint. It is a song from the 70s. So can you guess the L word?**

**Well, that's all for this chapter.**

**See you soon,**

**A. Angel**


	12. L is for Laughter

**Hello, all you cool cats and hot chicks, I've got another chapter for you.**

**First, allow me to answer some reviews.**

**PattyPatt, I understand where you are coming from. Perhaps Juvia isn't the type of person who would walk out on a date with Gray on account of the rain but let me say this as a counterargument. Before the Edolas arc begins, Lucy is looking out of the window and makes an offhand comment about the rain. Juvia then flips out and says to Lucy in a somewhat angry voice that she wasn't the cause of the rain. So it shows that even after her fight with Gray that she still has some lingering feelings about the rain.**

**When it comes to Juvia and her first date with Gray, I would think that she would want everything to be perfect. The rain would prevent that in Juvia's mind. Plus it would bring back bad memories of how things were back when she was under the rain. Which is why I had Juvia run from Gray at the first sign of the rain. Plus, I felt like I needed to cause some conflict between the two. All good stories require conflict in order to help characters grow. It's why I wrote E is for Existence and G is for Gratitude. These stories have a roadblock that Gray and Juvia have to overcome in order to deepen as a couple. Or that's how I feel anyways.**

**yosu, ****BonneyQ****, Juvia is always going to be someone who overreacts to everything, whether good or bad. But that's part of her charm and I like her for that. ****I mean who else but Juvia would think that Gray fighting to save Lucy is akin to being a love rival. Who else but Juvia would hear "We'll handle them with ease and think 'We'll be together forever.' and 'I love you, Juvia'?  
**

**(Side note: Maybe it's because I am a guy but why is it that the women that both Gray and Lyon attract are the overly obsessive ones? Sherry, Cheria and Juvia have all seen anyone who looks at those two ice mages as love rivals.)**

**Anyways, thanks for all of the reviews and to everyone who read the last chapter.**

**This is the next chapter. It's a songfic. Allow me to say that I'm really not a big fan of songfics. The reason is that it's near impossible to put in a medium that needs to be heard in a text based format. Just seeing the words doesn't convey the music which helps the set the mood. As such, songfics, in my mind, tend to suffer because of it. At best, it breaks apart the pacing of the story. At worst, it's lazy writing on the part of the author. I'm not saying this as a criticism of all songfics. Some can be good if there is a person or a device that sings the song. And the songs can be used to build tension (I think I did that when I put a song in the middle of my most recent GaLe chapter.) But more often than not, there are authors who intersperse lyrics in the story for no reason and that's what makes them bad. Of course, that's my opinion. I could be wrong. **

**So why did I write a song fic, you might ask yourself? Well, because I like this song and I think that this song accurately describes their relationship.**

**So let's get into the story. And sixteen points to yosu for getting the word.**

**And now, our feature presentation.**

* * *

**L is for Laughter**

_Oo, I hear laughter in the rain, walking hand in hand with the one I love. Oo, how I love those rainy days and the happy ways I feel inside. ~ Neil Sedaka, Laughter in the Rain_

Juvia was at home. She had just come back from a mission with Lisanna a couple of hours ago and now she was relaxing. It was a long three day mission fraught with danger. But the two of them handled it just fine.

In her empty house, Juvia found herself bored. She expected the love of her life, Gray Fullbuster, to be back. But that wasn't to be. The water mage knew that Gray and his team were supposed to be coming back from an important mission today. The thought of him made the water mage happy. Gray was rather... amorous when he came back from a mission. She shivered in delight. Oooh, she couldn't wait.

To pass the time, Juvia started cleaning the house. She was somewhat of a neat freak. Water mages dislike impurities so keeping things orderly was second nature to them. In fact, it made Juvia happy to take care of Gray's needs. (This isn't to say that Gray didn't do any of the housework. He helped whenever he was home.) Because of this, many people in the guild started calling Juvia Gray's dutiful housewife, a nickname that made her both blush and feel happy at the same time.

The cleaning done, Juvia decided to make dinner. Gray was going to be back soon and he would appreciate a hot meal.

Juvia walked inside the kitchen and got some ingredients to make dinner. Whenever she cooked, the blue haired woman always put on the radio for some musical accompaniment. The water mage found the portable radio and fiddled with it until it reached her favorite station.

"Hey cool cats and hot chicks." The voice on the radio said in a silky voice. "Welcome to KING, your easy listening station. I am DJ Tibbs. Now we have a request from a cool cat, GF, for his GF. This is Laughter in the Rain.

Juvia furrowed her eyebrows. The dedication for the song made her feel tingly. Now she felt like she had to listen to the song. As the song tuned up, Juvia started preparing the meal.

The song began to play.

_Strolling along country roads with my baby  
It starts to rain, it begins to pour  
Without an umbrella we're soaked to the skin  
I feel a shiver run up my spine  
I feel the warmth of her hand in mine_

_Oo, I hear laughter in the rain  
Walking hand in hand with the one I love  
Oo, how I love the rainy days  
And the happy way I feel inside._

Juvia couldn't help but smile at this song. She continued listening while cutting up vegetables.

_After a while we run under a tree  
I turn to her and she kisses me  
There with the beat of the rain on the leaves  
Softly she breathes and I close my eyes  
Sharing our love under stormy skies_

_Oo, I hear laughter in the rain  
Walking hand in hand with the one I love  
Oo, how I love those rainy days  
And the happy ways I feel inside_

Juvia could feel herself slipping. This song was bringing back memories of her first kiss with Gray.

* * *

Gray and Juvia were coming back from a mission. Their carriage had broke down and they refused to wait for another. Instead, the two of them decided to walk back to Magnolia.

At this point in time, they have been dating for almost two months. They were slowly developing as a couple. Gray was slowly learning the ins and outs of Juvia's mind as well as trying to make her comfortable with the rain. Juvia was learning to stop putting Gray on a pedestal and start treating him like a boyfriend instead of a god made flesh.

They have also been spending more time together. They took missions together, hung out at the same table in the guild and even done nothing together. And one time, Gray walked away from a fight with Natsu just to take Juvia to the aquarium.

But in the time they have been together, there was one thing that Juvia wanted to do that they haven't done. They haven't kissed.

Yes, they haven't kissed. One would think it strange that Gray and Juvia hadn't kissed. I mean they both like each other. It should be natural that they would want to kiss. However, it has yet to happen.

There was always something that popped up to prevent it from happening: a drunken guildmate would find them in a secluded place, a bandit ruined their alone time on a mission and one time, a dolphin from the aquarium splashed water on them just as they were about to kiss. And sometimes, they sabotage their own first kiss. Gray would pull away as if he were unsure how to act or Juvia would ruin it by going into one of her more... vivid fantasies.

So for almost two months, there was no kiss. But that is going to change.

So back to the story...

Gray and Juvia were heading back to Fairy Tail, enjoying the walk back.

"That was a tough mission, Gray-sama." Juvia sighed, stretching out her limbs.

"Yeah." Gray groaned. "How the client expected to heal a sacred tree is beyond me but we did it."

"Yep." Juvia smiled. "With Gray-sama by her side, there is no mission that Juvia cannot do."

Gray heaved a long-suffering sigh. She was doing it again, putting him on a pedestal. But it did feel kind of nice every once in a while, as long as she didn't go overboard.

"Come on." Gray responded. "We're about two miles outside Magnolia. If we walk a little faster, we can get there before dinner."

Juvia frowned a bit. "Is Gray-sama in a hurry?" She whimpered a bit.

Gray groaned mentally. Leave it to Juvia to take it the wrong way. "I was just thinking that when we get back, I'll take you out to dinner."

Juvia's face lit up.

Nice save, Gray thought to himself.

"Then let's hurry." Juvia told Gray.

"No, no." Gray said, shaking his head. "We don't have to hurry. Let's just enjoy the scenery.

And they would have enjoyed the scenery some more. However, something came to change that. It started raining. Well, it was more of a sun shower. But it did spoil the mood considerably. Juvia took the rain especially hard.

Juvia looked down at the ground. "Juvia isn't causing this."

"I never said that you were." Gray replied. It was his usual response whenever it started raining around them. He then grabbed Juvia's hand. "Come on, we are going to get soaked if we stay in the rain."

The two of them ran for cover. A funny thing happened during that mad dash. They started laughing.

It was weird. Juvia had always hated the rain. It ruined everything for her: friends, boyfriends, everything. But today, Juvia laughed with Gray in the rain as they ran like crazy.

They found a rather large tree with lots of leaves for cover. Gray and Juvia ran under it, still laughing. Juvia had turned to Gray with a smile on her face. She was about to say something when she saw his face. What she saw confused her a bit. The ice mage looked like he was studying her intently. His expression was unreadable. Juvia was a bit perplexed.

"Gray-sama." Juvia whispered.

And then the most amazing thing happened. Gray leaned towards Juvia and, ever so gently, brushed his lips against hers. It was just a quick peck on the lips. There was barely any contact between them. But the feelings that arose from that kiss...

Juvia's eyes dropped to half-lid. A deep blush filled her cheeks. She looked at Gray who wore the same expression. Then he looked away.

"I'm sorry," Gray apologized. "I just saw you and you looked... well you are... I mean..."

Juvia couldn't believe that Gray, her Gray-sama, was stuttering. To help calm his nervousness, the water mage grabbed her boyfriend's hand.

"Gray-sama." Juvia murmured.

"Juvia." Gray whispered back.

Ever so gently, Gray pushed Juvia against the tree. Brushing a stray hair from her face, the ice mage leaned in and kissed Juvia again. This time it wasn't a simple brush. It was full-on contact.

Juvia couldn't help the euphoria when Gray kissed her. She felt his hands around her waist. She could feel his breath gently caressing her lips, his lips melding against hers. Her mind was swimming. She couldn't think. All she could do was feel. In that one wonderful moment, the entire world melted away and all that was left was Gray and herself.

Juvia's hands made their way to Gray's bare chest (his shirt was discarded at some point). Her fingers roamed the planes of the ice mage's body, tracing the indentations of his abs with reverence. Gray, meanwhile, made small circles with his thumbs on Juvia's waist.

And then, the two broke away. They were out of breath. Gray and Juvia looked each other in the eyes. And then, for no particular reason, the two of them started laughing.

Gray smiled. "I guess we can wait till the rain passes." He said.

"Juvia doesn't mind." She smiled back.

The two of them stayed under that tree until the rain passed, kissing and enjoying the other's company.

* * *

Juvia remembers that first kiss quite vividly... and all of the kisses that followed. There were the quick pecks whenever they were the guild. (Gray wasn't really a big fan of public displays of affection.) There were the kisses on the forehead whenever Gray thought Juvia said something cute or something. There were the soft kisses he gave to her whenever they haven't seen each other for a while. There were the angry kisses after they had an argument. There were the hot and needy kisses while they were making love. Every kiss from Gray was a gift to Juvia.

Even now, with Gray away, Juvia could imagine Gray kissing her. He would be behind her, wrapping his strong arms around her, molding her to his body and kissing her neck. She could feel his cold breath on her skin, giving her goose bumps. She could feel his strong hands on her stomach, caressing the skin underneath.

Wait a minute. This felt all too real.

"Gray." Juvia moaned.

"Hey." Gray whispered in her ear, making sure to kiss her earlobe.

"When did Gray come back?" She mewled, loving the feel of his hands on her skin.

"A while ago." The ice mage chuckled. "You were in your own little world."

"Gray." Juvia sighed as Gray stroked Juvia's stomach

Juvia preened her neck as a silent plea for more. He obliged, leaving tiny love bites on her skin. Gray always knew how to make her feel so good.

"Gray, Juvia is making dinner." Juvia whispered in a needy voice. "Let Juvia finish."

Gray, in response, started stroking Juvia's arms all the way to her hands until it reached her right hand. His fingers reached the metal band on her ring finger. On that finger was a ring. And not just any ring...it was the engagement ring that Gray had given her when he had proposed to her.

"What were you thinking about, Juvia?" Gray asked.

"Juvia was just thinking about Gray and Juvia's first kiss." She told him, leaning her neck in another direction to give Gray more access.

"Oh?" Gray murmured, kissing the skin between her neck and shoulder blade. "Was it any good?"

"The best." Juvia sighed.

"Better than this?" Gray snickered.

"All of Gray's kisses are the best." Juvia purred when he did that thing with his tongue. "Does Gray think about our first kiss?"

"Every so often." Gray told her. "I remember that day perfectly. Your hair was down and a bit wet from the rain. Your cheeks were a bit flushed, you were out of breath and you had this look on your face that just drew me in. At that moment, I knew I had to kiss you."

Juvia could feel his icy breath on her skin again. For such a cold man, Gray Fullbuster could be very hot and passionate.

His fingers were now moving from her hands back to her flat stomach. One hand was inching ever closer to her breasts while the other was moving downwards. Juvia knew if either hand reached its destination, it would be game over for her. She knew that she should focus on making dinner but her body wanted more of what her fiancé was giving her and her body was winning.

All of a sudden, a timer on the stove went off, signaling that the food she put in the oven was done. Gray sighed and let go of Juvia. There would be plenty of time to play with her later after dinner.

"Gray should sit down and Juvia will finish with dinner." Juvia told him.

Gray chuckled. "Okay. I'll get the plates and stuff."

With that, the two of them prepared to eat.

* * *

Gray woke up in the middle of the night lying next to his fiancée. It was the best feeling in the world just holding her in his arms, especially after their nocturnal activities.

Gray's attention went back to the ring around her lovely finger. That made him smile like an idiot. Juvia was wearing _his ring_. Juvia was going to be _his wife_. And that made him happier than he had ever been in his life. In three months time, she would be Juvia Fullbuster.

Gray got up out of the bed. He didn't want to leave her side but there was something he needed to do. Juvia mewled cutely at the loss of his body but she quickly moved over to his side and didn't wake up.

The ice mage went to the phone and dialed a number.

"Hey, this is DJ Tibbs and you are listening to KING. Can I have your name, caller?" The voice on the other line answered.

"Yeah, this is GF." Gray replied. "I wanted to thank you for playing that song for my girlfriend... I mean, my fiancée. You made her day which, in turn, made my night."

The DJ chuckled. "Glad to help. And congratulations. Have you set a date?"

"Yes, three months from now." Gray answered.

"Well, I wish you and your fiancée the best for your wedding. Thank you for calling." The DJ said.

With that, Gray hung up the phone. He went back to bed and held Juvia in his arms again. If he could stay like this forever, well, that would be alright with him. He had Juvia now and that was all that mattered. That song described them perfectly. Their relationship truly began with laughter in the rain.

* * *

_Word Count: 2563_

**Another short chapter. I know. And just in time for Valentine's Day.**

**Yeah. I don't know if there are radios or phones. Let's just say that there are some.**

**When I first started seeing Gruvia as a couple, this was the first song that came to my mind. I think it describes their relationship perfectly. And you should really listen to the song. It's very sweet.**

**Well... Loved it? Hated it? Have no opinion one way or the other? Leave me a review. I'd love to hear from you.**

**Here's the prompt for the next chapter.**

_Gray was pacing about. His clothes felt extremely restrictive. And if he had to hear another "cold feet" joke, they were going to get an ice make sword where the sun don't shine. But he endured. It was the big day after all._

**This should be an easy one. What is the M word here?**

**Can you believe that we are nearing the halfway mark in the story? I can't.**

**Well, till next time.**

**A. Angel.**


	13. M is for Matrimony

**Hooray. An update.**

**Sorry this took so long. There were many, many stories bouncing around in my head that needed to be typed up so they wouldn't bother me any more. That includes the Rowen one shot, a NaruHina one shot, and two Fairy Tail children's one shots. Plus Gruvia week came up and there was no way I was going to pass up on that opportunity. Anyways, to those who did review "Why We Are Strong", thank you.**

**And also thanks for the reviews. Never in my wildest dream did I think I would reach 400+ reviews. And I am only halfway through. It really means a lot to me that you guys are reviewing, following this and placing this on your favorites list. It really means a lot to hear from you, telling me what you think. Makes me a happy guy.**

**Let me address a couple of reviews.**

**Catwho, there are a lot of songs that could describe Gray and Juvia's relationship. Me, I'm old school. So I'm going to like old school songs. And I do like your Fairy Tail Trance stories. (For everyone else, you should read Catwho's Fairy Tail Trance. It's really good.)**

**yosua, yes I suppose lacrima can take the place of radios and phones and all of that. It's better than the standard excuse, A Wizard Did It.**

**I didn't expect to slip up a lot of people by having GF's identity being Gray but apparently, I did. It was weird to say the least. But I'm glad that some people were surprised. Others weren't but they enjoyed it anyways.**

**And the compliments really go to my head. They make me blush...in a totally manly way.**

**Anyways, to this chapter. Most of you weren't surprised about the subject. So enjoy my take on this subject. And FoxRay, lolo, Killionaire, hopelessroman, Sarapyon, Catwho, MissMonsterite, PhoenixBear, Ulcassi, Darkhope, RedSin, LovelyAnime, yosua, FairyTailFreak, Gray23, Guests, Iloveanime, Neko-chan and loveyouforever get two points.**

**Enjoy our Feature Presentation**

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**M is for Matrimony**

_Marriage may be the closest thing to Heaven any of us will know on this earth. ~Edwin Louis Cole_

Gray Fullbuster had finally finished fiddling with his tie when a single thought crossed his mind.

**I hate formal clothes.**

Gray isn't the kind of guy who worries about what he is going to wear on a day to day basis. The ice mage is just a regular guy like that. In his mind, as long as he had on clothes and the shirt and pants were in the right direction, Gray was good to go. He didn't care what kind of clothes he wore as long as he was wearing some before he left the house. Plus his stripping habit made investing in clothing a waste of money.

But Gray hated formal clothes with a passion. To him, formal clothes were just so restrictive. You had to wear 'x' and it had to be custom made. And you can only wear this custom made 'x' at fancy place 'y'. It irritated Gray to no end. He hated places where the atmosphere was constrictive, like those stuffy country clubs. The ice mage wasn't a fan of places where people thought they were better than everyone else. That's why he avoided these places like the plague. And he mostly avoided situations where he would have to wear such clothing. However today was different. Gray had no choice but to wear these clothes. But that's okay. He would endure. It is the day of his wedding after all. The little bit of discomfort he dealt with today would all be worth in the end when Juvia was finally and formally his wife.

Gray was wearing a jet black tuxedo suit that felt itchy. The cummerbund felt so constrictive against his chest. The black necktie felt like it was choking him. The cufflinks kept scratching against his wrists. His shoes were so stiff that he couldn't feel his feet. Gray was tempted to rip them off. This wasn't his usual unconscious stripping habit. This was different. He felt like he was becoming one of those stuffy old men.

Gray sighed. This day couldn't end fast enough. This wedding was becoming a bigger production than he wanted it to be. The ice mage would have rather it be a private affair between him, Juvia, and a couple of witnesses. However, the master decided that their wedding was going to be a big thing.

And it was a very big thing now. Many guilds were invited, especially Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus. This didn't make Gray happy though. He just wanted to be married to Juvia now and not go through this whole ceremony and pageantry. However, Juvia wanted to have the pageantry. She asked so little of Gray. That's why he was going through this...for her.

Gray heard at a knock on the door, drawing him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah." He called out.

The door opened. Gray turned around and saw his Best Man, Lyon Vastia. The Lamia Scale ice mage was dressed in his tuxedo. Though he had an air of disinterest, Gray knew that Lyon was happy for him.

"Oh. You're actually dressed." Lyon said coolly. "I would have thought you'd have cold feet by now."

Gray frowned. He was getting very irritated with that freakin' joke. "Were you expecting something different?"

"I did." Lyon replied with a flourish. "I was hoping you would have run, leaving Juvia-chan at the altar. Then I swoop in, comfort her, and then she would become Juvia Vastia."

Gray glowered at his fellow pupil and best man. "Go to hell, Lyon." He growled but there was very little bite in his words.

"But I am surprised that you are finally taking the plunge." Lyon told Gray. "It's about time. You've made Juvia-chan wait so long for a ring."

Gray smirked a bit. "It didn't take long because I didn't love her." Gray explained. "I just had a promise to keep first."

The white haired ice mage gave Gray a curious look. "A promise?" He asked.

Gray's face became soft. "Yeah." He smiled.

Lyon didn't know if he wanted to press Gray on his comment. From the look on his face, it seemed rather personal.

There was another knock on Gray's door.

"Come in." Gray called out.

A middle aged man came into the room. Gray, for the life of him, couldn't remember this guy's name. But that mage has a very important function for the wedding.

"Fullbuster-san." The man called out to him. "I am prepared on my end. But I'm afraid I don't understand. Why would you want it to rain on your wedding day?"

"It's not suppose to be rain." Gray explained. "Just a light drizzle."

"Okay." The man said skeptically. "But why do you want it to drizzle on your wedding day?"

"It's very complicated to explain." Gray told the man. "But it would make me and Juvia happy if it did."

The man shrugged his shoulders. "Okay. You're the boss. Are we still in agreement on the price?"

Gray nodded. With that, the man took his leave.

Lyon was a bit confused at the exchange. "Why _do_ you want it to rain?" He asked.

Gray smirked at Lyon, which threw the older ice mage off a bit.

"We met under these skies." Gray explained. "She was just so sad that the skies themselves cried with her. Juvia told me that she hated the rain. It made her lonely."

Lyon said nothing. He had not heard the story of Gray and Juvia's first meeting so he only listened as his fellow pupil told the story of how they were on opposing sides, how hard it rained as they fought. (He didn't tell Lyon that he groped Juvia. He would never tell anyone for as long as he lived.) Gray then told Lyon what happened after he made an offhand comment about the rain.

"And then, using all of my magic," Gray continued. "I was able to freeze the rain and remove the storm clouds from over her. Juvia told me later that it was because of me that she saw the sun for the first time."

Lyon snorted quietly. "No wonder she's been head over heels for you." He said with a mirthful tone. "You are basically the sunshine in her life."

Gray's ears reddened but he said nothing.

"So, is that why you are having it rain?" The white haired mage asked.

"Not quite." Gray answered. "On our first date, we went out for a walk in the park."

"Really, Gray?" Lyon interrupted. "A walk in a park? That's your first date with Juvia-chan? Lame."

"Shut up." Gray growled.

Lyon shot back a smirk.

"Anyways," Gray continued. "We went out on a walk and it started to rain. She got so depressed that she ran off from our date. When I found her in the guild, she kept going on and on about how our date was ruined because of the rain. I kept telling her that it didn't matter but she wouldn't hear of it. That's when I got frustrated and told her that I would change her mind about the rain."

Lyon gave Gray a raised eyebrow, silently asking him to elaborate.

"Ever since then, I would do something special for her on the days that rained." Gray explained. "Dates to restaurants, amusement parks, or just aimlessly walking around together... Now that I think about it, many of my most significant memories with Juvia have been in the rain. Hell, I even proposed to her in the rain."

"So the reason you are having the guy make it rain is so Juvia-chan has another reason to like the rain." Lyon deduced. Lyon had to admit that Gray really knew how to treat Juvia.

Gray nodded.

There was a calm silence between the two ice mages. Gray was looking himself in the mirror, counting down the last moments of his life as a bachelor. Lyon was waiting for the signal to the wedding. Sadly, the quiet was doomed to be broken because all of a sudden, Gray's door was kicked open.

Gray didn't even have to turn around to know who was responsible for kicking down his door.

"Dammit, Ash for Brains." Gray growled. "It was opened."

Gray turned around and saw Natsu Dragneel crossing his arms as he stood over his door. Of course, his personal cheerleader, Happy, was accompanying him. Natsu was dressed in his own tuxedo suit along with his scarf. Happy was only dressed in a red bowtie.

Natsu refused to answer him. His face was quite sulky.

"Natsu, Natsu." Happy cajoled his best friend. "Gray's feet don't look cold to me."

Gray clenched his fist hard. From the day he had proposed to Juvia till now, he had to endure these 'cold feet' jokes. In fact, the closer his and Juvia's wedding approached, the more the jokes came. They started getting creative about it as well. Someone put ice in his shoes (which he didn't notice until the ice melted and soaked them). Another person drew an awful caricature of him with ice cubes for feet. Yes, he got it. Ice magic humor. Ha ha ha ha ha. God, it was getting old. He swore that the next person who made a cold feet joke was getting some ice make where the sun doesn't shine.

Natsu, for his part, didn't join Happy in his poking fun at Gray. He was still sulking.

Gray immediately knew the reason why Natsu was acting like this.

"Are you still pissed about the whole 'best man' thing?" Gray yelled at Natsu.

"How could you do that to me?" Natsu yelled back.

"Why are you pissed?" Gray retorted. "You were Gajeel's best man for his wedding and you didn't see me acting like a four year old child."

"That was different." Natsu shouted. "That was because Levy wanted Lucy to be her maid of honor. I was more of an afterthought."

"You still are an afterthought." Gray spat snidely.

"What did you say?" Natsu roared.

"YOU. ARE. AN. AFTERTHOUGHT." Gray roared back, slowly enunciating every word.

"How could you choose that guy" The Fire Dragon Slayer pointed at a thoroughly confused Lyon "over me?"

"Because he's part of the reason why me and Juvia got together in the first place." Gray yelled at the pink haired mage.

"But I've known you longer." Natsu snarled.

"Actually, that's not true." Lyon interjected. "I've known Gray longer."

"Shut up" was Natsu's totally intelligent and really mature reply. "I'm talking to this ice prick."

Lyon sighed, deciding to stay out of this tiff.

"It's my wedding and I'll choose whoever I want as best man." Gray roared, getting into Natsu's face and totally sinking to his maturity level. "I can choose a freakin' rock as my best man if I wanted."

"Oh yeah?" Another one of Natsu's mature responses. "Well, when I get married to Lucy, I'm choosing Happy to be my best man and you can be the flower girl."

This statement made the blue Exceed's eyes shimmer. "You would really do that for me, Natsu?" Happy asked.

"What do you mean 'when you get married'?" Gray challenged, totally ignoring Happy. "You haven't even proposed to Lucy."

That caused Natsu to stop. Gray was right. He hadn't proposed to his girlfriend of over three and a half years. In fact, up until this moment, Natsu hadn't even thought about marrying Lucy. They were fine as they were. But maybe someday...

In any case, Natsu would not let Gray get the better of him.

"You think I won't kick your ass on your wedding day, droopy eyes?" Natsu challenged.

"Bring it on, slanty eyes." Gray shot back. "I won't even scuff up my suit kicking your ass."

Before the two could throw a single punch, Gray and Natsu felt a terrifying aura, an aura that could only belong to one person, the one that scared them more than anyone in the world. In response, the two Fairy Tail mages executed Erza Defense Mode Alpha: Buddy-Buddy, linking their arms around the other's shoulder and smiling.

"You two better not be fighting." Erza walked in. "I would hate to dole out punishment on such a wonderful occasion.

Gray finally got to see the dress choice for Juvia's bridesmaids. Erza was wearing a variation of an Antebellum-style dress. The dress was powder blue. The shoulders had (what Gray could only describe as) poofy hoops and the waistline had poofy hoops as well. The neckline, however, was cut low enough that her cleavage was visible. To top it all off, the feared Titania was wearing a powder blue poke bonnet. (In full disclosure, Juvia had not wanted her bridesmaids to wear such a ridiculous hat but Erza insisted, i.e. threatened. Nobody argues with Erza Scarlet).

Gray, Natsu, Happy, and Lyon really didn't know what to say. If it were anyone else, they would have ridiculed that person. But this was Erza Scarlet, who can kick a mountain in half and no one laughs at Erza. NO ONE!

"We aren't fighting." Gray answered after his brain rebooted.

"Aye." Natsu replied.

"You two better not be." Erza commanded. "Natsu, I will send you through the window if you are."

Natsu was indignant while Gray shot him a smug smirk.

"How come I'm the only getting threatened and Gray's gets a pass?" Natsu yelled.

"It's because it's Gray's wedding." Erza explained. "But that doesn't mean I won't do it later." She then gave Fairy Tail's ice mage her most threatening look. "In fact, I'll make Gray's punishment twice as brutal because I'll have to wait."

That got Gray's attention. His smirk dropped immediately.

"In any case, you look pretty sharp in your tuxedo." Erza said offhandedly.

The men were off put by Erza's complete 180.

"You better make sure that it stays on your body or I will staple it on you." Erza said in an even tone, pulling out a staple gun from who knows where. That caused Gray to gulp loudly. "And you better not get cold feet and leave Juvia at the altar."

That comment made Natsu, Happy and Lyon snicker. Gray shot them all a dirty look. He would have done something about it. Then again, it was Erza who made the cold feet comment and he wasn't stupid enough to challenge Erza. "Okay." He thought to himself. "The _next_ person who says that joke after Erza is getting an ice make in the face."

"I'm not leaving Juvia at the altar." Gray said aloud.

"Good." Erza said. "The wedding will begin in ten minutes."

"Alright." Gray answered. "Let's go."

With that, Gray and the group headed to Fairy Tail's main hall where the wedding will take place.

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Gray waited by the altar where Master Makarov would be presiding over the ceremony. While he was waiting for the wedding to begin, his eyes started wandering around.

He looked to his right to see Lyon, his best man, and the other groomsmen, Natsu, Loke, Jellal (who was not in his Mystogan disguise) and Matthew Ostia, whom Juvia had once served as a mentor. Gajeel was also going to join his other groomsmen but he had a more important task to do first. He was going to be the one to give Juvia away.

Gray looked towards the audience. He could see many Fairy Tail mages cluttered in the front row on both sides of the aisle. They were waiting as patiently as Fairy Tail mages could. But even Gray noticed that they were antsy. Behind them were mages from other guilds: Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, Mermaid Heel, and many more. It was odd to see many of them but Gray figured that they were more likely drawn by the free food and partying, Fairy Tail style, than the actual ceremony.

In the furthest back rows, Gray saw two people whom he thought wouldn't be here: Juvia's parents, Poseidon and Amphitrite Lockser. He was surprised. Considering the way Juvia left things with her parents when they came back into her life, he didn't expect them to come. If they are only here to watch, then that is fine. But if they are here to object, well...let's just leave it at that. (And if you, my dear readers, are wondering what happened when Juvia met her parents for the first time, I am sorry to tell you that that is a story for another time.)

Gray decided to look up at the ceiling...or, more accurately where the ceiling used to be as the guild cut it open just for this occasion. The water mage that Gray had hired to make it rain for his and Juvia's wedding was standing on the roof. He started preparing his magic, causing the skies to darken a bit. The clouds were ready to bring a sun shower as soon as his cue was given.

Gray started taking some deep breaths for a reason he couldn't fathom. Why was he doing this, he wondered. Marriage is what he and Juvia wanted. This is what they've been talking about ever since Gray gave his beloved water mage his ring. He loved Juvia. He wanted to be with Juvia forever. So why was he doing this? Was he nervous? If so, then why?

The sound of the pipe organ brought Gray out of his train of thought. As the overture of the Bridal March began, the doors to the guild opened. When that happened, the water mage created a light drizzle.

The first person to come in was Ren and Sherry Akatsuki's three year old daughter, Rika. She was given the job of flower girl, mostly because she was the youngest girl invited. Next in the procession came Levy Redfox and Erza, dressed in their powder blue Antebellum style dresses. Lucy Heartfilia and Aries was next. Aries felt particularly nervous with everyone's eyes on her but one look at Loke smiling at her and the Ram Spirit felt re-energized. After those two was Meredy and Juvia's maid of honor, Urtear. She chose her because Juvia wanted Gray to have some connection to his teacher on the most important day of his life. That made the ice mage smile internally. His girl was always thinking about him like that.

Then, after what felt like an eternity, the bride had entered the guild. His beloved water mage, Juvia Lockser (well, she won't be Lockser for much longer, now will she) was escorted by Gajeel. When Gray saw what she was wearing, as cliched as it sounds, his breath was taken away.

Juvia was in a shoulder-less powder blue-white gown that had a deep V neckline. Her shoulders were adorned with blue carnations. Her veil was placed on her hair, which was tied into a plaited bun. There was a butterfly pin attached to the veil as well. Yet, it was the hem around her legs that caught Gray's attention. It made him smile. Leave it to Juvia to incorporate a rainbow along the hem. Juvia herself had some light makeup on her face. Gray didn't know what products were used but all he knew was that it made her look even more radiant.

Now Gray had seen Juvia in all sorts of clothes. He had seen her in her regular clothes, sundresses, casual, swimwear, nightgowns, and even nothing at all. But seeing her in that wedding dress topped all of that. I guess it is true what they say. A woman never looks more beautiful than when she is wearing a wedding dress.

As Juvia slowly made her way to the altar while she walked through the rain, Gray couldn't help but feel like the luckiest man in the world. Juvia made him so happy. He loved her with all of his heart and now she would be doing him the honor of becoming his wife. He also felt like kicking himself for not noticing Juvia sooner. How many more memories could they have had if he hadn't been so stubborn? But the ice mage stopped that train of thought quickly. It was better that Gray be the last person to figure out his feelings than to have Juvia be the one that got away.

Juvia finally reached the altar. Gray offered his hand. She took it ever so daintily and joined him up on the stage. He noticed that Gajeel gave him a look. The ice mage interpreted that look as "You better make her happy or else I'll fucking kill you." Like he needed to be told that. Everyone got in their respective places: Lyon opposite Urtear, Natsu opposite Lucy, Loke opposite Aries, Jellal opposite Erza, Matthew opposite Meredy and Gajeel opposite Levy.

Master Makarov cleared his throat and began the ceremony, speaking about how love and stuff. Gray actually tuned out his master's words. Instead, he looked at Juvia's veil-covered face. God, she was just so perfect. How could someone like Juvia be so devoted to him? How could anyone be as compatible to each other as Gray and Juvia are? Gray didn't know but he planned on making Juvia happy for the rest of their (hopefully) very long lives.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the bride and groom have written their own vows." Makarov announced. The master then turned to Juvia. "Go ahead, Juvia."

Juvia nodded. She then looked at Gray with her beautiful sapphire eyes. "When Juvia first met Gray, she was very sad." She began. "She brought the rain that brings everyone down. But Gray changed all of that. He showed Juvia the sun for the first time. He showed Juvia the power of Fairy Tail. Gray gave her friends to fight for, a reason to live, a love to return home to, a dream worth fighting for, and the conviction to see it all through. It's because of Gray that Juvia is the mage and the woman she is today. And it is Gray who Juvia will love for the rest of her life."

There was nary a dry eye in the guild after Juvia's speech. Even Gray had to stop himself from tearing up.

"Gray." Master Makarov nudged.

Gray nodded. "Juvia." He began. "Before you came into my life, I was lost. I kept my true self hidden behind walls of ice. And then I met you. You confused me at first, saying Gray-sama this or Gray-sama that. I couldn't understand you at all." There were slight giggles from the people in the crowd. "Then I started to feel different around you. And without even realizing it, you tore down the walls around my heart. It took me a while but I finally returned your feelings. Whenever I'm with you, I feel complete. You're everything I could have ever wanted in a woman and all of the things I never knew I needed. And I love you forever."

Juvia started tearing up, causing the rain to get a little heavier. Gray reached under her veil to wipe her tears.

"Hey, no need to cry." Gray whispered.

"Juvia is sorry." She answered. "Gray said such sweet words that Juvia can't help it."

Gray blushed a bit. "Alright. Alright. Please stop crying." He pleaded.

Juvia took a deep breath and stopped her tears. She smiled at Gray who returned it just as powerfully.

"Alright, kids." Makarov chuckled. "Let's get this train back on track. Now, I'm betting that you two are going to love each other through good times and bad and blah blah blah so we can skip that, right?"

Gray and Juvia chuckled at the master skipping the whole "Do you take" part.

"I do." Gray smirked.

"Juvia does as well." She smiled.

"And I'm sure that there is no one who has an objection to Gray and Juvia's union." The master continued.

Those who weren't in Fairy Tail could feel a wave of oppression from Fairy Tail mages. It was as if they were daring someone to speak against Gray and Juvia being married. Who would even dare to deny these two lovers their day and face the wrath of Fairy Tail? It would have been better to face ten thousand dragons with one eye, one arm, one leg and a broken stick than to face Fairy Tail after hurting the ones they love.

"Well then, there's nothing left to do but to make this official." Makarov grinned. "Gray, go kiss your bride."

_Finally_, Gray thought, _the good part_. He grinned at Juvia and raised her veil. With a gentle hand, the ice mage lifted her chin. Gray leaned in and kissed Juvia with all he had, ignoring the hooting and hollering of their fellow mages. With that kiss, he had sealed his and Juvia's new life together.

"I now present to you... Gray and Juvia Fullbuster." Makarov yelled out in happiness.

A deafening cheer erupted, shouting their congratulations to the newly married couple. Gray turned to Juvia, directing her eyes to the sky. It was starting to rain a little harder but it didn't matter to the two Fullbusters. Instead, they couldn't help but think it was serendipitous that the rainy sky they first met as enemies was the same rainy sky that they were finally joined as husband and wife. They had each other... now and for the rest of their lives.

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_Word Count: 4,231_

**Chapter done. Can you believe that I am halfway through the fic. Makes me sad that I am reaching the end**

**As you probably guessed, I am not very good with describing dresses. I don't know the correct terminology and I am quite lazy in researching it. Basically, I was scrolling through deviantart and found some Gruvia wedding drawings and went with that. Antebellum-style dresses come from the Southern part of the U.S., particularly Georgia and Alabama. It's suppose to represent a sort of high class American style before the Civil War tore up everything. And I truly sucked at describing those dresses as well.**

**I don't like describing weddings. I've been to a couple but I've never really been comfortable going unless I absolutely had to go. My girlfriend and I have no plans to get married ever. We are fine raising our daughter the way we are. It irritates some of our family member that we are having a family without getting married. To us, being married is more of a feeling and has nothing to do with the ceremony. I hope I conveyed it through Gray's eyes. This is also the reason I skipped the whole beginning speech and the "Do you take x to be your y" speech. I find those quite boring.**

**Matthew Ostia is a character I created for "Why We Are Strong". He was in the second chapter, "Choice." I needed to pick someone who would be opposite Meredy as she is important to Juvia. The reason I had Aries in the story as a bridesmaid was that she could be opposite Loke, who partnered with Gray in the S class exams. He had a somewhat important role in "She Belongs With Me", my debut Fairy Tail fic.**

**Anyways, love it? Hate it? Have no opinion one way or the other? Leave me a review. I'd love to hear from you.**

**Here's the prompt for the next chapter.**

_To Gray, when Juvia first joined Fairy Tail, she immediately became his comrade. And though Juvia would like their relationship to be deeper, she was happy that the ice mage trusted her to have his back in combat._

**Any guesses as to what N will be? I'll give you another hint. It's a word that gets thrown around Fairy Tail a lot.**

**Well, till next time,**

**A. Angel**


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